Instinct
by KDMOSP
Summary: He had sent her out into the field that day, all the while knowing she was exactly who the UNSUB was targeting. Now, he'll do anything to get her back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yep, another JJ in trouble fic. I am going to do this one a bit differently though :) Enjoy!**

It was a deep, sicking feeling, one that nagged at his every nerve; instinct almost. And yet, he couldn't place exactly what was nagging him. They were in the field, well technically he was at the BAU and his agents were in the field. Rossi and Emily had gone to interview a former schoolmate of their UNSUB, Morgan and Reid had gone to the secondary crime scene- where their fourth victim had just been abducted from, and JJ. He had sent JJ to interview the parents of one of the victims.

In all honesty, he had sent her their because he was terrified for her safety. Every single one of the seven victims matched JJ to a "T." Blonde hair, blue eyes, successful. And Hotch knew if he even mentioned anything to JJ she would be furious. So, instead of pulling her completely, he had sent her to to interview the family. JJ would be safe there.

They were both fortunate and unfortunate- the case was on their own turf. They were lucky in that the BAU served as their base, that they didn't need to travel, that they could stay the nights in their own beds. They were unfortunate in that this was happening in their own backyards.

"Hotch?" He was shaken out of his thoughts by Morgan.

"What did you find?" He asked, hoping Morgan hadn't noticed him drifting off.

"Same thing. Her apartment was torn apart, blood on the bed and door. Broken window."

"And nobody saw anything?" Of course not, nobody ever saw anything, and when they did, they normally didn't step forward, especially once the FBI became involved. Hotch checked his watch, it was nearing 6:00, he had asked them all to meet back at the BAU at 5:45. Morgan and Reid were there, he just saw Rossi stoll in, no doubt Emily was not far behind.

"Where is JJ?" Hotch asked, looking at each one of them in the eye, hoping someone would say they had spoke to her. When he was met with silence, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number. It immediately went to voicemail. His knew immediately who was his next call.

"Garcia." His tone of voice gave Garcia every indication that he needed her now. "Track JJ's cell." He ordered.

"Y-yes sir," She stuttered as she sitman solely texted Morgan a question mark. In less than ten seconds, she was able to provide her boss with an answer. "Less then a mile from Tiffany Riggs house, sir."

Hotch didn't need to say anything more, they all rushed out the door and piled into one SUV, the lights flashing as they drove towards the given location.

"Emily. Call her again." Hotch bit his cheek as they sped down the highway. In his heart, Hotch knew they were too late, that their UNSUB had somehow gotten to JJ. And as he glanced at his team, he knew they were thinking the same thing.

When they arrived at the address, Hotch had Garcia back on the phone, demanding the phone's exact location.

"JJ!" Morgan yelled as the team spread out, looking for their friend.

"Morgan, you are approximately a hundred feet away." Garcia told him a he headed towards a wooded area.

"Are you sure?" He asked, not liking where this was going.

"You're there!" Garcia shrieked, hoping that they would see JJ somewhere.

Morgan glanced around, his heart sinking, JJ was nowhere in sight. "Baby girl, call JJ's phone." He listened for the sound of the ring and when he heard it, he dashed off running for the sound, his team members right behind him.

It was a distinctive crunch that stopped all of them in their tracks. "Damn it." Rossi moved his foot aside, seeing the demolished phone on the ground.

Hotch looked down, then back up at his team, they all knew what had happened. "Find her." He growled already pulling out his phone to contact the necessary people. "Ma'am." He didn't bother beating around the bush with Strauss. "Agent Jareau is missing."


	2. Bruise

**A/N: I don't know about you, but I am beyond excited about "The Road Home" and "200"**

**Enjoy!**

Hotch and Morgan sat in the living room of the person they suspected had last seen JJ. Tina and Robert Riggs, the parents of the now deceased Tiffany Riggs, looked as though they were still in shock. Hotch didn't blame them, they had lost their daughter to a serial killer just a week before, and now the FBI was making them relive their last memories of their daughter.

That had been JJ's job.

Morgan and Hotch were there now, to speak about JJ, and to hope that the Riggs' had seen something, anything.

"She wasn't here long," Robert said softly, taking a sip of his water. "Maybe an hour."

"What was the last thing she said to you?" Morgan inquired.

The two looked at each other and this time, Tina spoke up. "She said she was sorry for our loss, that from what she could tell, Tiffany was a wonderful young lady." Tina didn't bother to hide her tears. "And.. and that she was going to do whatever she could to bring her killer to justice." As if a light bulb went off over Tina's head, and the fog cleared. "Wait. Is Agent Jareau alright?" She felt horrible, neither her nor her husband had even bothered to ask why the FBI was here asking about one of their own.

Morgan looked to Hotch, and out of respect, he let his boss explain. "We have not been able to make contact with Agent Jareau since she left your house. We have reason to be concerned."

Tina's hand flew over her mouth as the cogs in her head began to turn. "Wait. Agent Jareau looked like Tiffany. Blonde hair, blue eyes. You don't think he…"

Hotch nodded, confirming to the couple what the BAU was suspecting. "I do. And that is why if you remember anything, please." He reached over and handed them a business card with his number on it. "Please, call."

The couple nodded and walked the two agents to the door. Hotch and Morgan were halfway to the SUV when they saw Tina come running out towards them, waving her hands frantically in a desperate effort to get their attention.

"Agent Morgan, Agent Hotchner." She gasped. "I remembered something!"

Morgan and Hotch looked at her, silently urging her to go on. "I am not sure if it is important, or even if you knew about it. I found it odd that she was wearing long sleeves and it's the dead of summer. At one point, Robert accidently spilled some water on her neck and sleeve and she jumped at it. She rolled her sleeve up to try and dry it and there.." She paused and calmed herself. "There was a huge bruise on her wrist."

Morgan looked to her, a bruise? Knowing JJ, she could have gotten it from anything, more than likely from working out at the gym.

"Agent Morgan." Tina seemed to be able to read his thoughts. "I know its just a bruise, but this one, it looked just like a hand. You could see the finger marks and hand print." Another pause. "And she had one on her neck, too."

"We didn't see a bruise on her neck." Hotch looked to Morgan for confirmation. How in the hell had they missed that?

Tina shook her head. "She immediately reached up from the water that had splattered and dried it off her neck, using her sleeve she dried it off. When she wiped it off, it took off the concealer. I saw it agents, it looked as though someone had grabbed her around the neck and choked her."

Hotch looked at Morgan. What the hell was going on?


	3. Leaving

**A/N: I apologize for the lack of updates! I am a bit nervous about this chapter! Let me know how you like it!**

Aaron Hotchner made his presence known as he nearly ran through the hallways of the police department, towards the holding cell. William Hunt had been arrested less than an hour ago- their main suspect in the kidnapping and murder of Tiffany Riggs. And the only suspect in the disappearance of JJ.

"Agent Hotchner." The lead detective met Hotch outside the interrogation room.

"Detective." Hotch held out his hand. He desperately wanted information, but had to remain professional.

"One of our officers spotted him in a rural area, he was digging a hole." At those words, Hotch's heart plummeted into his chest.

"Did he say why?" Hotch asked, glancing into the room. William Hunt was sitting, relaxed in the chair, his hands secured under the table; he even had the gall to close his eyes.

The detective shook his head. "No." He paused and then decided to approach the subject with the intimidating FBI agent standing in front of him. "There was no sign of Agent Jareau." He spoke softly.

Hotch nodded; that simple statement could be taken so many ways. No sign of JJ meant that maybe Hunt did not have her, never had her. It could also mean that he had already hurt JJ; and with him digging a grave.. Hotch shook his head, he couldn't think on it anymore.

He took a deep breath and walked into the room, a small manila folder tucked securely under his arm.

"Mr. Hunt, my name is Aaron Hotchner, I am with the FBI." He began, watching as Hunt opened his eyes and smiled at him.

"FBI huh? Guess I did good." He laughed.

"I am just going to cut to the chase now." Hotch didn't have time to play games with this asshole, he had a much more important task. "Have you seen this woman?" He slid JJ's

The look on William Hunt's face was one that Hotch knew immediately, would haunt him for years. "Oh yes." He leaned back in his chair, appearing to think. "I've seen her." He smiled. "Probably in more ways then you have." He winked.

Hotch swallowed. "Where is she?" He growled.

Hunt leaned forward this time. "Which part of her do you want?"

Hotch bit his lip and thought about it. "You know what, I don't think you have anything to do with her disappearance." It was a relief, sort of. "You haven't provided me any details that can link you to her disappearance. "

"What exactly do you want?"

Hotch shrugged. "She was a teacher; tell me what grade she taught."

Hunt bit his lip. "Fifth grade art teacher," He said, trying to sound confident.

Hotch stood up, done with this man. The BAU had done their job and arrested a man for the murder of several women; but he doubted he had anything to do with JJ's disappearance. "Thank you Mr. Hunt."

And with that, Hotch turned and walked out the door. He had an agent to find. And with Hunt out of the way- Hotch knew where to focus his attention.

Twenty minutes later, he practically ran into the BAU and up to one office.

"Garcia." He didn't bother knocking as he burst into the office. If anyone knew anything about JJ's home life, it would be her best friend.

"Bossman! Did you find her?" Garcia jumped up at the sound of her boss' voice.

"Garcia, has JJ mentioned anything surrounding her home life?"

Garcia shook her head. "No.. no. Why?"

Hotch sat down and thought about how to express her concerns, carefully. "Nothing about JJ and Will?"

"Will? No.. why?" Garcia paused. "You don't think he.."

Hotch nodded. "I do." And the guilt he was feeling was astronomical. He had grown up surrounded by domestic violence- and sadly he was starting to think that the horrific violence was occurring in JJ's life. And while he was not sure yet, after what Tina Riggs told him; the thought wouldn't leave his mind.

Sure, bruises could come from anywhere; and JJ being as active as she was, Hotch expected bruises. But when Tina had described the location of the bruises, those couldn't be explained easily.

JJ was being abused, and Hotch was sure Will was doing it.

And when his cell phone rang, and Rossi's number came across; Hotch didn't let it ring twice before answering it.

"Hotchner."

"He's gone." Rossi mumbled. "Will is not here, none of his buddies have any clue where he is at, or could have gone."

Hotch rubbed his hand over his chin before hanging up the phone. "Garcia." It was a long shot, but he would try it. He had a sickening feeling that Will had already ran. "See if Will has boarded any flight."

It still shocked him how fast Garcia could find any information. "He has a flight booked this afternoon for Tokyo.."

Hotch nodded. "When does it leave." He asked looking at his watch.

"Thirty minutes."

****"Do not let that plane take off!" He commanded as he ran out the door. Finding out Will was leaving the country was enough for Hotch to believe that he was involved in JJ's disappearance. It was enough for him and the FBI to prevent a jumbo jet from taking off. He just hoped it was enough to find JJ alive.


	4. Airplane

**A/N: Thank you for staying with me on this one, enjoy!**

William LaMontagne, Jr. sat comfortably in his first class seat; thanking the flight attendant as she poured him a glass of wine. The flight was scheduled to leave in ten minutes, he would be home free as soon as the giant triple seven took to the skies.

He sunk down into his seat, and pretended to focus on the magazine in his lap, all the while trying to stop the tremors that randomly shook his body. He had just had a hit moments before he had boarded the plane; knowing he had to avoid the dreaded tweaking stage. He would be fine until he reached his destination, he wasn't that addicted. Not yet.

"Sir?" Will looked up to see the flight attendant looking back at him. "We are about to take off, can I take your glass?" She smiled at him and held out her hand.

"S.. sure." Will nodded and handed her the glass, avoiding making any eye contact with the young woman. But as she walked away, Will rubbed his eyes, he could have sworn she had three arms and an extra eye. "Fuck.." He whispered to himself, shaking his head, knowing he was hallucinating. He REALLY needed this plane to take off; once it did, he knew he would be able to relax.

Will closed his eyes again, and took a deep breath, trying to remind himself of his training, of how to stay calm in pressured situations. He knew what to do, and as he did it, he felt his body relax to the point he wanted to fall asleep.

He was half way there when a sinking feeling in his stomach forced him awake. He checked his watch, it was thirty minutes ago that the plane was supposed to have taken off. And his heart began to race when he looked up and saw the crew gathering up front and looking in his general direction.

"Fuck." He whispered again to himself.

"Ladies and gentleman." He watched as the lead flight attendant addressed the ever growing impatient crowd. "We apologize for the delay, we will be off the ground and on our way to Tokyo shortly. Thank you for your understanding." She stated, but offered no explanation.

"Whatever." Will thought to himself and rolled his neck, trying to get comfortable. He had just closed his eyes again when he found himself suddenly being hauled up from his seat; large men with the words FBI on their chest surrounding him.

"What the hell?" He struggled, trying to get out of his seat.

"Let's go!" One of them barked at him, not offering him a chance to ask a question as he was dragged through the aisle, trying to cover his face from the onslaught of camera phones.

As soon as he stepped off the plane, in the breezeway, Will came face to face with Aaron Hotchner.

"Hotch.."

"Where is she, Will?" Hotch cut him off. His voice was low and dangerous. Will remained silent, not willing to give any information to the furious team of federal agents standing before him. Hotch stared at the younger man, hoping that he would divulge something, anything about where JJ might be.

Will cringed, he was caught, he was in trouble. And so he gave the only answer he could. "I don't know."


	5. Gone

**A/N: So the most stressful part of my year is DONE! I can now focus on writing again! Thank you all for your reviews! Please let me know what story I should update next!**

Aaron Hotchner stood with his arms crossed as his mind took in everything that Will had just told him. He had been with the FBI for years, had seen everything, but this- this was something different.

No, it wasn't different, he was sure it happened all the time. What made it different was that his agent; the woman he was responsible for, was the victim. And now, he had confirmation that JJ had not simply disappeared; that something horrible had happened to her. And it was at the hands someone JJ had trusted.

At least, Hotch thought she did.

He clenched his hands into fists as the conversation between he and Will replayed in his mind. Will had admitted to not just hitting JJ once or twice, but in his own words, "beating the hell out of her." Will had gone as far as to brag and say that he knew JJ well enough to know that she would not allow her team to find out; and that he knew how and where to hit her so that the bruises were not visible. He had used JJ trust for her team against her.

"You knew she wouldn't tell us?" Hotch had wanted to clarify the statement, why in the world would JJ not tell them?

"JJ, does not tell you anything." Will scoffed, and rolled his eyes, trying to show that he still had some control.

Hotch had bitten his tongue, knowing Will was probably right; if she hadn't told them that Will was abusing her, what else had they missed? "I think she tell us a lot." Hotch had voiced.

"That's a good one, Hotch. Did she tell you that she lost our baby? That she was pregnant and was dumb enough.."

"Shut up." Hotch had growled.

"She knew she was pregnant Hotch and she still went to work!"

"No accidents happened at work, Will. She was never hurt at work; if she lost the baby, I have a feeling it was at your hands."

"You son a bitch," Will had tried to stand but the handcuffs prevented it.

"Where is she Will?" Hotch had asked, already done speaking with the man. He wanted his agent and he wanted her found now.

"You're the big bad FBI, you find her." Will had dared, but quickly cowered when Hotch came closer.

"Let me explain something to you, Will. I already have you on domestic violence, drug possession, resisting arrest, I have you on suspicion of murdering a federal agent." Hotch had to force the words out of his mouth. "If you do not tell me where she is, your day is going to get much, much worse."

Will had looked at him, and knew the agent was serious. "I didn't kill her, Hotch."

"Then where is she?"

In the end, Will had caved; it had taken more than a threat, and the opinion from Hotch that if the weasel did not tell him exactly what had happened, it would be his last day on Earth.

"Hotch?" Hotch looked up to see his team gathered around him.

Hotch nodded and rubbed his mouth with his hand, trying to comprehend what Will had confessed to.

"Will told me a few things." Hotch began. "About a year ago, he lost his job after he was accused of hitting a victim. It was serious enough to cause bodily harm. It was just after that that he met up with some friends from college. He states he became addicted within a week and began using everyday; he didn't tell JJ about his job. It was two months later when he realized he needed money and began dealing." Hotch paused and looked at everyone gathered. "He came home one day, and JJ was there; she had wanted to surprise him. But when JJ began questioning him about his day- he became irate and attacked her." Hotch heard a gasp come and knew, without looking, it was from Garcia. "He knocked her unconscious. When she came to, he had her in bed, and told her she had slipped on water when she walked in."

"JJ never said anything.." Garcia whispered. "She never told us anything."

"Will says that as his habit grew, so did JJ's suspicion. Five months ago, he hit her so hard her head shattered the window; when she she began to try and leave, he kicked her hard in the stomach and dragged her, before he locked her in the bathroom closet." As Hotch repeated what Will had told him, his heart broke even further.

"That was when she called in sick, said she had the flu.." Reid muttered, remembering the exact day.

Hotch nodded. "She was pregnant."

Nobody said anything, nobody knew what to say. Their JJ, their friend had been in an abusive relationship and not one of the experienced profilers had any inclination.

"Where is she?" Morgan spoke up first, already fearing the answer.

Everyone looked at Hotch, desperate for an answer.

Hotch took a deep breath. "A week ago, JJ moved all of her money from her account, leaving Will with less than a hundred dollars. Will knew she was getting ready to leave him; and without JJ, he couldn't support his drug habit. He called a friend named James Letnin, and arranged to meet him that afternoon. Will only said that James was well connected and could easily get Will what he needed; as long as Will could pay."

"But he didn't have enough money.." Rossi caught on.

Hotch nodded. "James had known JJ for a long time, and as Will put it, he always wanted her. Will told James that JJ was working on a case right here and offered James a deal. Will would tell James where JJ was and essentially trap JJ in exchange for any amount of meth."

"Oh God.." Garcia put her hand over her mouth.

"According to Will, James was the one to grab JJ. Will had helped to subdue her. They had met at a park, JJ refused to be alone with him anymore. Will had her talking to him about counseling when James came up behind her. Will held her arms as James drugged her.."

"He handed her over to him?" Morgan was turning red, his anger was growing.

"Where did James take her?" Emily said softly.

Hotch shook his head; if it wasen't bad enough already, it was about to get even worse. "Local PD just picked up James at his home;" Hotch paused, fighting the break in his voice. "JJ was not with him."


	6. Without a Trace

**A/N: I LOVE this story! It is my favorite one to write currently! Please review!**

James Letnin whistled as he strolled up his driveway, happy to be home after a long day of work. His job was stressful, but he enjoyed it, he enjoyed being a hero, being the one to help people.

"Hi honey." James called as he walked into his home, smiling as his two children ran up to him and jumped into his arms. The twins were the light of his life, as was his wife; he couldn't imagine life without them.

"Did you two behave?" He bent down and placed each toddler onto the floor, kissing their heads as he stood back up. His hand stayed on his service weapon as he kissed each child; wanting to make sure that no little hands accidently grabbed it. He had been on the force long enough to know how easy it was for a child to stumble upon a weapon- how easily and quickly tragedy could occur. He was bound and determined to teach his children gun safety and it had already started.

"Okay guys, I need to go put my uniform away." He told them, walking towards the locked closet. He took out the key he kept, and opened the door stepping inside as he heard the doorbell ring. James ignored it, knowing his wife, his beautiful Molly, already had the situation under control. He hummed to himself as he entered the combination into the gun safe and un holstered his gun, removing the clip, and then placing that in a separate lock box.

"James!" Molly's voice shook him and he bolted out of the closet, the tone of her voice sent his heart racing.

"Mol-" He skidded to a stop when he saw two of his coworkers, and the chief in his hallway. "What.?"

"James," Chief McHays stepped forward. "We need you to come with us."

"What?" James looked to Molly, hoping she could shed some light. He wasn't dumb, and had been a cop long enough to know something was very wrong.

"The FBI needs to speak with you. Now."

And James' heart sank, "Is this about that missing agent?" He whispered.

"Just come with us, James." The chief urged, not wanting to handcuff the officer in front of his family.

"Of course, sir." James nodded. He turned to Molly, and wiped the tears off her face. "Go to your mother's, take the kids."

"James.."

"Molly, it's okay."

"It's him isn't? This is LaMontagne's doing."

"We knew he would try something." James stroked her cheek and kissed her again. "I'll call you when I can."

And with that, James walked out the door and headed towards what he knew was a jail cell.

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James sat in the holding cell, rubbing his hands together. He hadn't been told anything after the chief had told him to have a seat. That was half an hour ago; the wait was trying his nerves and James wasn't sure how much longer he could take it.

A minute later, a man that James instantly knew was the FBI, walked in. James stood to meet him and stuck out his hand.

"Sir," He could tell he had caught the agent off guard, but he had to make this right. "James Letnin."

"Agent Aaron Hotchner," Hotch took his hand and shook it, already knowing Jams was not their man.

"Sir, I have to tell you, I have no idea why I am here." James could hear the fear in his own voice as he sat down.

Hotch nodded, as soon as he had read James' file, his records, he knew James was innocent. "I just need some information." Hotch reached into the folder he was holding, and slid a picture of JJ's bureau photo over to the man. "Do you know this woman?" Hotch asked.

James bit his lip, shaking. "That's JJ." He whispered, immediately connecting the dots in his head. Will, JJ, the missing FBI agent.. "I know her." James whispered. "Yes, sir, I do."

"How do you know here?" Hotch asked, intrigued by the man in front of him.

"I was on the force with her husband, we were good friends." James swallow. "I was on patrol with him one night and noticed he was acting strange.. just different. I didn't say anything but that night changed everything."

"You were the reporter." Hotch stated, knowing the answer.

James nodded. "We pulled a driver over, DWI, and the driver said something to Will- he went ballistic, beat the person so hard that we had to call an ambulance. I had to report it."

"Does Will know you were the one who reported the incident?"

"Yes. After he lost his job he promised to make my life a living hell. Will changed, I don't know when.. but something happened and he snapped."

"Did he ever discuss his home life with you?" Hotch wondered.

"No. Not much." James paused for a moment. "Sir, is JJ okay?"

Hotch stared for a moment and sighed. "I don't know." It was the truth, he honestly had no idea where JJ was, her condition, or if she was even alive- and it was driving him to work harder. "Will implicated you in her disappearance- stated that you and he met JJ at a park, that you drugged her and traded Will JJ for meth."

James put his head into his hands, and shook it. "No." He couldn't help but sniff, the thought of sweet JJ in trouble was something he was having a hard time digesting.

"Is there anything you can think of that might help us find her?"

James racked his brain, trying to think of something, and then like a light bulb, it went off. "The man Will had beat was in the process of suing Will and the department. And then suddenly, the lawsuit was dropped. A few days ago, actually."

Hotch arched his eyebrows, that was interesting.

"The man, Charles Oliver had a lengthy criminal past.." He paused. "Agent Hotchner, he had been arrested two years before on suspicion of human trafficking."

**A/N: So, what do you think? Is James a good guy or a bad guy?**


	7. Storm

**A/N: To my wonderful readers and fans! Thank you so much for all of your support. I have had an AWFUL two weeks at work and have made myself so physically sick that my writing will prob stink for a bit. But I am trying! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**OOOH! And if you have any idea what has happened to JJ, let me know :) If you are right, I will let ya know!**

Penelope Garcia sat in her fortress, fingers at the ready for the moment she would be needed. She had a stockpile of used tissues accumulating on her desk, as well as her favorite slippers and fluffy blanket.

Her team of superheros had rushed out the door an hour before in an effort to find their missing friend.

Garcia was not dumb. She knew that the team had not found her JJ. Had they done so, she would have gotten a text, an email, a phone call, something. She had nothing.

And suddenly, a horrible thought entered her mind- what if they had found JJ? What if they had found her body; what if they had found her and just hadn't told Garcia yet?

And with that thought- Garcia quickly dialed Morgan's number. She drummed her fingers against the counter, waiting for him to answer.

"What is going on?" Garcia practically screamed when she heard him answer.

"Baby girl.."

"Don't you baby girl me, Derek Morgan!" Garcia felt the tears begin again. "Is she there?" She whispered.

There was a long pause, and for a moment, Garcia knew her worst nightmare was coming true.

"No, Garcia. She isn't here."

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Garcia met the team in the conference room as they walked into the BAU, obviously stunned. They had no idea where their missing teammate was.

"Guys?" Garcia pressed, wanting information.

She watched as each member sunk into a chair. They looked like hell, they felt like hell, they were living in hell.

It was Hotch who spoke first. "We went to Charles Oliver's house; we made entry and found him dead in his living room." He paused and licked his lips. "Gunshot to the head."

"What aren't you telling me?" Garcia whispered, looking at each team member. Something was being kept from her and she knew it.

It was Rossi who spoke up. "A witness came forward and said that she had seen Will there yesterday evening.."

"After JJ vanished.." Garcia added

Morgan nodded. "We can put Will at Oliver's house, so we have him as our suspect in Oliver's death."

Garcia swallowed. "Why would Will kill him?"

"Because, Oliver knew where JJ was, and Will knew we would connect him to Oliver. Will had to get rid of Oliver to prevent him from spilling what happened to JJ.."

Garcia looked at them, it was elaborate, a huge mess that they had to sort out. "How much time does JJ have?" She whispered and covered her mouth when everyone looked down.

"She doesn't." They all knew the stats, the first twenty four hours was the golden time; after that, there was very little chance of ever bringing their victim back alive. "If JJ is alive, whoever has her, will probably keep her alive until they feel threatened."

"What do we do now?" Garcia sunk into a chair next to her friends.

And when she was met with silence, Garcia knew that whoever had hurt JJ had a massive storm about to hit them. They just had to find their JJ.


	8. Shed

**A/N: Thanks for staying with me! Hope you enjoy this one! **

Hotch knew. He knew as soon as he had stepped out of the car, that it was too easy. It had been too easy for Garcia to find a secondary home for Charles Oliver, had been too easy for her to provide them with as much and detailed information as she did. Yes, Garcia was damn good at her job and Hotch never doubted she would be able to locate the necessary information; yet, this one felt different.

And as he stepped out of his car, with his team, and the local officers- Hotch took a deep breath and put his hand on his gun. The SWAT officers were already suited up- ready to make entry.

"We need to be prepared for whatever we find." Hotch began, looking at each team member dead in the eye. "We all know that we might not find her inside, we might not find her alive." He knew they knew, they were intelligent and experienced enough to know that. But he felt as though he had to say it.

So with one more deep breath, Hotch nodded at the SWAT commander signaling that he and his team were ready to make entry.

The SWAT team began their approach, followed closely behind by Hotch, Emily and Morgan. All focused on one thing- finding JJ and bringing her home.

They were so focused, that when the first gun shot rang out, they froze. It was as if nobody had ever heard the sound before, but when the shots began firing in rapid order, their training quickly kicked in.

Everyone was firing, yelling orders and commands as the white house became riddled in bullet holes, the windows shattered and when Hotch heard it- heard the sound he had been dreading, he lost his focus.

"Prentiss!" He shouted, running backwards to her, providing cover for his wounded agent.

"I'm alright, Hotch." She gulped, putting pressure to the penny sized wound in her shoulder.

"Garcia, get an ambulance." He commanded as he watched as the gunfight began to slow down, SWAT and the others could handle it now, he had a priority.

"I don't need an ambulance, Hotch." Emily argued, attempting to push his hands away from her bleeding shoulder.

Hotch stared at her, he was terrified he had already lost one agent, he was sure he couldn't handle losing another. "Stay there." He ordered, not in the mood to argue with anyone.

"JJ.." Emily began, seeing that SWAT had made entry into the house and was busy clearing the scene.

"If JJ is inside, SWAT will find her." He hated doing it, but right then, he only had an if with JJ, when he had fact with Prentiss. And the fact was, Prentiss had been shot on his watch; the same watch that JJ had been kidnapped on.

It was when Emily went quite, that Hotch knew she was thinking the same thing he was.

"Hotch.." She began seeing the ambulance pull up.

"Prentiss, don't." He warned. He couldn't stand the thought that they had been too late for JJ. "Go with them, I will meet you at the hospital." He told her once he saw her in the safe hands of the paramedics.

He wasted no time after that, and ran towards the house. He glared at a number of men who were sitting outside, on the patio, cuffed. He said nothing to any of them though, as he walked inside.

"Hotch." It was Morgan who got his attention, "She's not here." His voice was small defeated; but Hotch could sense there was something else and prodded Morgan to continue. "Outside." He nodded towards a backdoor. "How's Emily?"

"She'll be fine. Just a graze." And Hotch had counted his lucky stars. "She was adamant about staying.."

"That's Emily." Morgan lead Hotch outside, and that is where the two men stopped; right on the back patio.

"Deputy found them." Morgan began as the two FBI agents looked over the yard. "At least thirty two women, locked in a shed." He paused; knowing he was thinking the same thing Hotch was. "She isn't here, Hotch." He took a deep breath, "but we found her badge inside the shed." He handed his boss the thin wallet

"She was here." Hotch grimaced, looking down at JJ's face, her ID in his hands. "She was here, and we just missed her."

Morgan could only nod and look away as the awful thought entered his mind. "She was sold, Hotch." Morgan whispered. "She was sold into human trafficking."


	9. Room

**A/N: I am not sure how I feel about this chapter, but wanted to get it published. THERE IS A REFERENCE TO RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER. It is not big- and really does not show much, but please know that! I leave a clue in here for you if you have been a long time follower of CM! **

Officer Cassidey Mills wiped the sweat from her brow as she continued to comb for evidence in the immaculately clean house. It surprised her actually, how clean it was. It was a welcome surprise, she was used to combine for evidence in disgusting environments. This one didn't seem to have a carpet fiber out of place.

"Damn." She whispered to herself as she continued doing her job; she wasn't really sure the circumstances surrounding the case, but had been asked to come and do her job. Glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, china decorated the tables, numerous flat screen TV's hung high around the house. It was a millionaire's mansion.

It was as she was working her way back from the third floor, that something caught her eye. In the corner of the wall, on the first floor, the lines did not match up, they shifted almost. And the light bulb went off over Mills' head.

She knew the FBI had found numerous victims outside, locked in a shed, so she had no doubt that what she found was exactly what she thought it was. A hidden room.

"Bart!" She called for her partner as she ran her hands along the wall, trying to find out exactly where the opening for the room was. "Bart, c'mere!" She called again growing more and more confident that she had indeed found a major break.

"Cass? You okay?" Officer Bart Zone asked, seeing his partner almost frantic.

"Help me, there is a room back here!"

Bart had learned a long time ago not to ask questions, so he simply jumped in and worked to find someway to open the wall. And ten minutes later, they finally found it.

"Ready?" Cass asked, taking her flashlight and gun out as she began walking down the dark hallway.

"Right behind you." Bart whispered, before speaking into his microphone to tell his command what they had found; where they were going.

It was just that a lengthy hallway that lead to a set of double doors, doors locked from the outside with nothing more than a large pole lazily slipped through the handles. Cass looked back at her partner and nodded before pulling the pole out and opening the doors.

"POLICE!" They shouted, quickly scanning the room with their flashlights. It didn't take long before the two were confident that nobody was in the room.

"Oh God." Cass whispered, looking around. The conditions were nothing short of barbaric. "Bart, we need the FBI back." She said quietly, taking in the scene before her.

A large bed sat in the middle of the room, blood had dried on the mattress and sheets, handcuffs dangled from all four posts as Cass noticed multiple cameras set up all positioned to focus on the bed.

Slowly, she walked closer, seeing if she could pick up anything off hand that might help any more victims. And there, on the pillow, was a small, thin, beautiful necklace.

And for the first time in many years, Cass cried at the scene in front of her.


	10. Harm

**A/N: PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS A/N! This chapter is GRAPHIC!  Please be aware of that before you read this. I did it for a few reasons, the first being I want to be true to what human trafficking victims experience- I know what it is like because I survived it. There are no boundaries for these people who traffic people, anything and everything goes. PLEASE take care before reading this chapter. **

Hotch stared at the small evidence bag in front of him, stared at what had been recovered from that room. A necklace, a very familiar necklace. JJ's necklace. For the first time in what felt like years, the FBI had something solid to go on.

And Hotch had a feeling they were about to get much more.

"Go ahead." Hotch told the computer tech sitting in front of him. Normally, without a second thought, Hotch would have had Garcia work the equipment. But not with this case; not with IJ being the victim.

"Sir, I have to warn you.." The young agent began, wanting to give the lead agent a heads up. Ryan had seen what he was about to show Agent Hotchner, and had no words to describe it.

"It's alright, just show it." Hotch said softly, knowing that what he was about to see would rock him to his core.

"I have positively identified the victim in this video to be Agent Jareau, sir." Ryan explained as he began pressing buttons.

"She's alive." Hotch muttered.

"Yes sir, date stamp said this was as of two days ago.."

Hotch nodded again, and focused his gaze on the monitors in front of him. He felt awful not telling his team about what had been found, but at the same time, felt a need to protect them; he didn't know what the video would show and wanted to warn them ahead of time.

"Alright sir, it'll start in a second. Let me know if you need me to stop it."

The screens blinked on, and Hotch watched as the film seemed to focus, in full color, on the room he had just left; his heart was already in his stomach. He knew what he was about to see might be his breaking point- he just had to prepare himself for it.

He watched as he heard a sound and saw two figures drag in a fighting petite frame; even with the back of the person's head to the screen, Hotch knew he was seeing his agent. And he had never felt more proud of her.

He watched as she continued to fight, kicking, screaming doing everything she could to get away from the men who restrained her.

"Knock it off, bitch!" One of them shouted and Hotch winced as he saw the man swing a bat at JJ's back, effectively knocking her to the ground. He heard her cry out in pain and refused to blink as the men dragged her up by her hair to a standing position.

"You are going to learn, tonight!" Hotch heard one of them whisper and cringed when he saw them tie her hands to a chain hanging from the ceiling. "Fuckin bitch, we are tired of you.. you are lucky you are going for a shit ton of money.." Hotch shook his head at the statement, it alone confirmed their worst fears, JJ was involved in a human trafficking ring.

"Some dude out west paid a lot of money for you, girlie.." Hotch closed his eyes when he saw a hand reaching for the white button up shirt JJ was wearing.

"Don't touch me." JJ hissed, as Hotch shook his head at how weak her voice sounded. It wasn't JJ.

"We're going to do a lot more than that, sweetheart." The first man promised.

And while JJ fought and fought, Hotch knew she was no match for the two men; they simply overpowered her. He bit his lip and tongue as he saw the flashes of cameras go off, knew what they were doing- he bowed his head as he watched the men strip his agent in front of the cameras making sure that they did not block any view.

"You see the camera, pumpkin." Hotch forced himself to look up, concentrate on the man's voice, his mannerisms and not JJ. "Everyone wants to see you, the big bad, tough FBI agent." Hotch balled his hands into fists; the bastards knew JJ was a federal agent. It made everything worse for her. "There are a lot of people watching, honey.. this is live after all." He grabbed JJ's chin and forced her to look at each camera.

JJ stared at him, Hotch knew that stare, had been the focus of it before and he knew it could melt ice. "The FBI will find you.." She growled, but did not flinch when the man slapped her hard across the face.

"They don't even know I exist.." He challenged her and rubbed his hands across her cheek. "But when they do, you can be sure, you will be long gone."

Hotch felt his will breaking, he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle this; but then at the same time, he had no choice. This was JJ. This was his agent, his JJ and by God, if she had to go through this, the least he could do was watch it- watch it in the hope that he would find her.

"You know what we are going to do, don't you sugar?" Hotch shook his head, feeling the vomit beginning to rise in his throat and prayed he wouldn't puke in front of the young agent sitting in front of him.

"Don't.." He heard JJ's voice and knew, he knew she was terrified. "Don't.."

And while Hotch hoped that they would listen, that JJ would be spared this, he knew it wasn't to be. The CSU had discovered semen on the blood stained sheets, and Hotch knew this is where it was coming from- that these two men had done the unspeakable.

And that he was about to witness it.

"Oh JJ." He found himself saying.

"NO!" He jumped at the shrill scream and forced himself to swallow the vomit in his mouth as JJ was forced onto the bed, he could hear the chains clanking against each other as she fought violently.

He had to sit, he had to. He hated what he was seeing, watching; he hated that this was happening to JJ and he despised that he was not able to intervene. The one thought that ran through his mind that kept him somewhat sane and calm was the fact that this video was in the past- that nothing he did now, could have stopped it. The act had happened.

"I swear bitch, if you don't cooperate, we will do so much worse." Hotch heard a man growl and smiled when he saw JJ quickly break the man's nose with a well aimed head butt.

"That's a girl." Hotch nodded proudly, smiling as he saw blood drip from the man's now deformed nose.

"Fuck this!" The man shouted. "She ain't worth it!" He screamed, dancing around the floor.

"She is." It was the first time Hotch had heard the other man speak, and when he entered the frame, Hotch knew it was about to get much worse. In his hand, he held a long needle.

"Hold still," He commanded, grabbing JJ's leg and jamming the medicine into her body.

"No.." JJ shook, trying to dislodge the device; fighting with any energy resources she had left.

"Shh, baby doll." The man whispered, pushing the drugs into her system before pulling the syringe out and tossing it aside. "There, now enjoy your ride."

Hotch watched in disgust as the first man grabbed each of JJ's hands and undid the restraints from them, before handcuffing her to the bed; he repeated the action at the bottom of the bed, this time securing her ankles. It didn't take any time before the man climbed onto the bed, next to JJ.

"Now princess," The man began, his hands entwined in JJ's hair. "You are going to be a good girl while we do this. We get to make a movie." He paused and bent down. "If you are, we will let your family find your body."

Hotch closed his eyes as he watched the man assault his agent, he knew it was happening, he heard JJ's pleas, the man's grunts, and JJ's tears and screams. He simply could not watch.

And when he thought it was over, just in time to open his eyes, Hotch saw the second man repeat the vicious crime. Assault his agent all over again.

The cries were just as horrific as before, JJ's pain was almost palpable to Hotch and when her cries stopped, he opened his eyes to see her simply lying on the bed, exhausted. In the background he heard the men talking again and hung his head as he saw the first man walk back over. He was still nude.

"I want one more thing, princess." He cooed, straddling JJ. "Be a good girl.."

If Hotch had doubted JJ for even a moment, what happened next proved him wrong. "Open your mouth, bitch." The man ordered, and Hotch couldn't help but shudder when JJ did it without an argument.

And when JJ bit down, and when the man screamed so loud it put a smile on Hotch's face, he knew JJ was not done fighting.

Until he saw the second man come in with a pole, a large thin pole and smack JJ in the stomach with it; he hit and hit again until the first man was able to free himself. And even then, he didn't stop the attack.

Soon, the second man joined in, using whatever they could to hurt JJ. They used the pole in so many awful ways that Hotch couldn't hold it in anymore, and he turned and vomited into the waste basket.

When he looked up again, his agent's eyes were closed. Her eyes were swollen, her nose was broken, cuts littered her body and just when Hotch thought they couldn't do anymore- the bastards took the blood stained pole and slammed it into the side of JJ's head.

He never saw his agent move again.

And it occurred to him right then, as he watched the men uncuff her body, and wrap a sheet around her nude form, before dragging her from the room, that he most likely had just witnessed the murder of his friend.

He wasn't sure how long he had been staring at the now black screen, Ryan had stepped out a while before- Hotch had not been able to move. A ringing phone brought him out of his misery.

"Hotchner." He answered flatly, not even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Agent Hotchner, this is Captain Romeir.."

"Yes."

"I hate to have to tell you this, but about twenty minutes ago, we found LaMontagne deceased in his cell."


	11. Warehouse

**A/N: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your reviews! Thank you so much, it means the world to me!**

Hotch sat on his knees, in the middle of the old warehouse, unable to think, unable to move, unable to do anything. He had failed. He had been too late, and his agent had paid dearly for it.

He heard it, hail pummeling the roof as thunder and rain just added to the dreary and awful situation; and Hotch paid no mind as office after officer gently placed a hand on his shoulder; all showing their sorrow and respect for the FBI agent and his fallen agent.

He sat beside her, beside her broken and bruised body, knowing she would be his last case. That he would catch the people responsible for her death and make sure they detested the day they ever laid a hand on her. If it was the last thing he did, he would make sure JJ got her justice.

But right now, he simply couldn't move.

For just an hour ago, he had found the body of Agent Jareau, discarded like trash in the middle of the warehouse hallway. She had been dumped, left alone in the cold warehouse, on the dirty, disgusting floor. Someone had dumped his agent, their JJ and left her.

And if her death didn't enrage Hotch enough; leaving JJ in the condition he had found her in did. Her beautiful blonde hair that she took so much pride in was splayed out on the dirt floor, blood tinged the tips of it. Her face was pale, ghost white, but what tore at his heart more than anything were two things.

The first was that her skin was still warm to the touch; she hadn't been gone long by the time he dropped to her side. Ten minutes at most; they had just missed her.

The second, and the one he knew would forever haunt him was her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes were staring straight up when he had found her. But instead of the crystal clear blue that he was so accustomed to seeing in, he saw fear, he saw pain, he saw death.

"JJ." He whispered, not caring if anyone heard him. "I'm so sorry we couldn't get here in time. You didn't deserve this, and I promise we will find those responsible. You will get your justice, JJ. If it takes me until my last breath, you will get it." He stood up and took off his FBI jacket, and placed it over the body of his agent; he couldn't watch as the medical examiner came in, escorted by Morgan. He couldn't watch as they lifted her onto a gurney and he could only bow his head as they draped her with an American flag; the one thing that kept him in the present was the tiny necklace he now kept in his pocket.

"WAIT." He suddenly called to the ME, "Here.." He handed the necklace over to the doctor. "Please, make sure she gets it." His hands shook as he held out the gold chain.

"Sir, if you want to wait a few hours, you can place it on her." The ME whispered softly.

And right then, Hotch wasn't sure if he was strong enough to even do that; he wasn't fast enough to save her, brave enough to fight for her, and now man enough to place a necklace on her.

He had done nothing but fail her, fail his team, and fail his country. And JJ's life had been the price.

He had looked up one more time to see JJ being loaded into the ambulance, and as he did, his heart beat increased, there, helping load the gurney was the man from the had JJ again, he was touching her again… and Hotch was furious.

Without thinking, Hotch took out his gun, aimed at the man and fired.

A loud buzzing and ringing and Aaron Hotchner felt himself thrown awake from his spot in his office chair. He glanced around his surroundings, he was at the BAU, not that dingy warehouse.

"Shit." He muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair, and suppressing the need to vomit. It had only been a nightmare, a horrific, detailed, nightmare. And one he was still partially living.

They still, after three days had no idea where JJ was. They had no idea who had her, who the men in the video were, where they had taken her. They had no idea if JJ was still alive.

Hotch had consulted with a physician on staff with the FBI and showed him the video; the doctor had delivered somber news and had informed Hotch that without proper and swift medical care, JJ most likely did not have much time. He had given Hotch forty-eight hours at best, they were well past that dreaded deadline and still could not pinpoint JJ.

And as much as Hotch hated to admit it, that if he saw JJ as just another victim, he knew he would not even consider the chances of finding her alive- it was almost impossible. He had to settle himself and be ready to find his worst case scenario, he had to be willing to accept that JJ may not have survived.

It was minutes later, at 3:03 in the morning, when he reached over and answered his cell phone. It was less than twenty seconds later, that Hotch knew that the search was over.

A body had been found.


	12. Grave

**A/N: I love this story! Thank you all so much who have reviewed! I have a very tough, exhausting job and getting an email alert that I have a review just makes my day! Keep reviewing and I will keep writing. Honestly, the more reviews I get the more excited I am to write!**

**ENJOY!**

The drive to the location was nothing short of torture; and as Hotch drove down the isolated farm road his thoughts began to wander. Wander in so many directions. What if this was JJ? What if he was about to discover the body of his agent, dumped on some farm road?

Yes, he knew as a federal agent there was an inherent risk that went along side with their job, and his coworkers knew and understood that risk. But at the same time, Hotch always knew there could be a day when he would lose an agent- he just always thought it would be at the hands of a bullet.

As far as he knew, it could have been a bullet that ended JJ's life; he simply did not know. And the things he did know, the details that had been provided were scant, limited at best. But he did know this. A farmer in a rural part of the county had apparently gone outside to see why his chickens were frantic- he had figured it was a coyote and gone out armed; ready to shoot the beasts.

What he had discovered was a freshly dug grave; he had acted quickly and dug out of the fresh dirt before calling the police and reporting that the body of a young woman had been buried on his farm.

It was all Hotch knew at the moment, at least all he factually knew. In his heart, he knew that the search for JJ was over; and he could not stop the lone tear that cascaded down his cheek.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

He had decided to wait, he waited by his car until he saw the rest of his team show up. Every single member- except JJ. They would do this together. As a team. He had not told them anything beyond that he needed them at a specific address immediately; but as he looked at each expression on their faces, he knew they knew.

"We need to be prepared." He began. "I got a call that a body has been found." He had to pause. "The description matches JJ." There was silence for a moment, and he had to hold his breath to stop the emotion. "This will be difficult; and you all have a choice to make. You can come with me so that we can make the positive identification, or you can head back and prepare yourselves for what we are about to discover."

The entire time, Hotch never expected any one of them to leave; and when they stepped up to him, Hotch knew he was not alone. "Thank you." He nodded, making eye contact with everyone of them.

They walked as one into the darkness, heading for the glowing flashlights of the few officers that had just arrived; they were met by the farmer who stood just feet away.

"They said the FBI was coming out." The farmer stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "Buck." He simply introduced himself. "She's over there." He nodded behind him. "I found her and called 911, figured she's dead.." He lowered his head. "Poor girl, she looked like she was in a lot of pain. Wish I had been out here earlier, maybe she would've made it."

Hotch couldn't say anything, for once, he was speechless.

"Thank you, sir. We appreciate it." It was Emily who spoke before looking over to her boss and allowing him to lead. A sign of respect; he would go first.

The spot was easy to find, three officers stood around it, stepping back when they saw the FBI agents approaching them. Nobody spoke, not one person said a word as Hotch stepped forward.

"Sir." The officer nodded at Hotch, now familiar with the FBI investigation.

Hotch closed his eyes and kneeled down, squatting on his knees as a last thought ran through his mind. This could be the last few seconds that he had any innocent thinking that JJ could still be alive.

So with a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked into the shallow grave and lost any sense of worth, belonging, anything.

There, laying still was his JJ. Her body lay twisted in an agonizing form, dirt still covered parts of her small body, but he had no doubt, that they had found the missing agent.

"Morgan." Hotch called, trying to keep any semblance of authority in his voice. "I need your jacket." He asked, standing on his feet and walking over to the edge of the grave. He had to be exceptionally careful about where he stepped, he wanted every shred of evidence to be found and would not risk contaminating the scene any further. He held the jacket in the off chance that a mistake had been made and that JJ was alive. By looking at her, Hotch knew that was not the case.

"Has the ME been called?" Hotch asked the officer looking over at him.

"On her way out, sir." The young officer replied.

Hotch nodded and then something hit him, like a lightning bolt. "Did Buck check for a pulse?"

"No sir."

Hotch looked back down at his agent. "Did you check for a pulse?"

"No sir."

Hotch looked at all of them, amazed, angered, disappointed. And then, without thinking he jumped into grave and pressed his fingers to her neck.

She was warm. "JJ?" He whispered, pressing his fingers harder in a desperate attempt to feel anything. And there it was- a small, almost non existent pulse.

"Rossi! We need medics now, she is alive!" He practically screamed out.

The sudden onslaught of activity was overwhelming, but Hotch paid no attention to them, only to the woman who lay in front of him. "Jennifer"! He addressed her by her given name, careful not to move her in case of any unforeseen injuries.

"JJ, open your eyes." He knew she probably was not able to, but had to say something, keep talking to her. And he did just that, as the officers helped cover her nude body, he spoke to her, assuring JJ that she was safe, that they were there.

And he had never felt as relieved as he did when he saw the paramedics rushing in.

He quickly got of their way and let them work, but kept an ear out for anything they might need.

"Oh shit." Adam- the lead paramedic said as he dropped to JJ's side and pressed his fingers to her neck.

The scene in front of him was nothing like he had seen before. To his experienced eyes, he knew this one was different. And deep down, he wondered if she would even make it out of this hole. His partner, Tanner, was alongside him and together, the two worked as a team to keep their patient alive.

"Adam, we have to tune her" Tanner said, moments after they had rolled JJ onto a backboard, mindful of the possibility of a spinal injury.

It was nothing unusual, slipping a tube down a patient's throat to protect their airway, but as Adam steadied himself to do that, to secure her airway- he knew almost immediately, that intubating the woman would not work.

"I can't see anything, she is too swollen." Adam said, trying again to squeeze the tube down the back of JJ's throat. "Fuck!" He swore and tossed the used tube. They didn't have time to waste, and without a second thought, Adam knew what they had to do.

It was an awful place to do it, stuck in a filthy hole, but they had no choice. "We need to cric her." He said to his partner, dreading the awful procedure. He had only done it a handful of times, but he was confident he could do it now.

"What does that.. what are you doing?" He heard someone ask, and without turning, he grabbed the tools from his kit and swapped an alcohol pad across the young woman's throat.

"We need to secure her airway, normally that is done by slipping a tube down her throat. Unfortunately, right now, her throat is incredibly swollen- she cannot breathe safely, and cannot maintain her airway." He paused, and grabbed the tool needed for the procedure. "We have to give her an airway, we have to cut a hole in her throat." He explained and without waiting any longer, did exactly as promised.

He cut a hole in her throat using the sharp instrument, and didn't bat an eyelash when blood began pouring from the wound. He didn't move when he heard the distinctive sound of vomiting behind him, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to slip the tube through the narrow opening. His patient now could breathe.

"We are going to need air ambulance." Adam told Tanner, watching as his partner radioed in for assistance.

Adam looked back down at the woman and shook his head. He was not sure what had happened, but saw the horrific damage done. Her blood was stained on her, around her, numerous bones were broken, she had multiple gashes littering her petite frame. A finger was missing.. her finger was gone. And Adam knew that this poor woman had given up- and he did not blame her, not for one damn second. But he, he was not ready to give up and was ready and willing to accept her fight for her. It was time for her to rest and let those who valued life take care of her.

"Hi there, hon." He said softly, taking out his penlight and reaching down. "My name is Adam, I am a paramedic, I am here to help you."He was not sure if she could hear him, but in case, just in case, he wanted her to know that he wasn't there to cause any harm. "It's going to get bright." He warned and lifted her eyelids. "Tanner, she's got a blown pupil."

Hotch listened to everything that was being said, watched as the two men took care of JJ, cringed when they cut into her neck and shook his head when a helicopter was called. Now, they were talking about a blow pupil, and while Hotch was not a doctor, he knew that wasn't good. Blown pupil meant head injury.

"ADAM!" Hotch jerked his head up when he heard the shout and saw the two medics, spring into action. "V-FIB!" He watched as one of the men leaned over JJ and started pounding on her bare chest, and bit his lip when he saw the other reach for the defibrillator.

He didn't say anything as they continued to shock her, continued to pound on her, said nothing, but felt everything. And as he watched her tiny body jump again, Hotch had to wonder if JJ really could survive this.


	13. JJ

**A/N: I am sorry for the delay in posting this; for 1) was down and I couldn't upload anything, 2) I was mega stuck on this chapter, I rewrote it about eight or nine times. Thankfully, my amazing beta reader, "Snuggle Up" came up with the awesome idea that is the chapter, it is basically combining four of the failed rewrites into one chapter!**

In her dreams, she was free. She was finally free. There would be no more pain, or suffering, no fear or sadness; there would be none of that. Only happiness and it was something that Jennifer Jareau longed for right then.

Nothing hurt anymore, the pain from the numerous assaults had faded away, now, all she felt was cold. Her brain didn't need to think anymore, JJ knew what had happened, she knew she was going to die in the ditch; and she was okay with that. She was almost relieved.

In death- nobody could hurt her, nobody could harm her, violate her body. No, that was only in life. And she knew she was not strong enough to handle it all over again, she simply could not live through it; and in all honesty, she did not want to.

The atrocious acts that were forced upon her, made her want to cry again. But she could not; crying would bring more pain and right now, she had to focus on keeping as still as possible. So, JJ just laid there, unable to move and slowly, she was becoming more and more aware that it was getting more difficult for her to breathe. It wouldn't be long now.

She tried to take in a deep breath, but her body refused to allow it and she wasn't going to fight for it. It was time to go to sleep, and so, she closed her eyes as she curled into a fetal position. The pain was finally gone.

And then suddenly, horribly, inexplicably, it came right back and JJ found herself wanting to scream. She couldn't though, she couldn't do anything as she felt hands on her body, more hands on her body and voices behind her. She couldn't make out what they were saying, couldn't get her body to cooperate to tell them to stop, to beg them to leave her alone.

Their hands were everywhere, all over her broken and bruised body; their hands hurt and sent shock waves of pain shooting from her head to her toes. 'Please stop,' she silently begged them.

She felt her head being pushed backwards and her mouth being forced open, nobody paying any attention to the pain it caused. Her jaw was broken and they did not care. Nobody cared about couldn't communicate with them, couldn't get her eyes to open, or her body to obey her commands. She could think but not move, understand but not communicate and when she felt something cold press against her windpipe, JJ steadied herself for what was to come.

And when she felt a cold instrument slice into her throat, JJ screamed inside. She tried to fight to wiggle away, to do anything to stop the sudden onslaught of pain, but she couldn't. And then suddenly, it was gone- it was all gone, and JJ discovered something else. She felt her lungs filling with oxygen, felt the struggle to breathe dissipate, felt her body relax. It was a wonderful feeling. Breathing.

And as more hands began to touch her, another thought entered her mind. These people were not here to intentionally hurt her, they were here to help. She had been found. And right then, JJ knew she did not want to die.

Her chest hurt though, so did her back, and her head and her ribs- and everything else. But it was her chest that was really bothering her. It wasn't a feeling she knew how to describe really, it just hurt.

She felt a prick in her arm, followed by two more and for the first time in a long time, JJ felt warmth. Felt herself relaxing as she heard more voices surrounding her. They sounded scared, alarmed, something about someone not doing well.

"Hi there hon," One of them began. "My name is Adam, I am a paramedic, I am here to help you." His voice was strangely comforting to JJ and she tensed as she felt his hands touch her again. "It's going to get bright." He told her and she felt him lift her eyelid. It was hard to see, very hard to see, and everything was blurry. But what she saw was something that made everything okay.

Hotch was there; he had found her. She was safe; and she was exhausted. She heard various alarms beeping, someone screaming, and felt something placed on her chest but it didn't matter now. Hotch was there, and Hotch would keep her safe.

JJ felt something, someone pressing on her chest, calling her name, but something else was calling her, a brilliant warmth that seemed to welcome her into its embrace. And JJ simply could not ignore the light that called her name as she walked towards it.

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"Damn it." Adam swore under his breath, ignoring the sweat that begin to trickle down from his brow. "C'mon, kiddo." He whispered, as he continued to pound on his patient's chest. She was not responding to his intervention, CPR and meds had failed to produce any positive result,  
>and her heart monitor continued to show a decline. But he was not ready to stop, to give up- no, not on this one.<p>

"Anything?" Adam whispered to Tanner, hoping that the other medic had seen something that Adam had missed.

"Nothin'." Tanner replied, glancing at the monitor; injecting more medicine into the IV that had been started.

"Fuck." Adam swore under his breath, his arms were getting tired. "Where is the damn helicopter?" He looked up briefly, looked for any signs of the landing chopper and shook his head when he didn't see one.

He turned to the officer and shouted. "Tell dispatch that we need that chopper here, now!" He growled, not willing to give up on this one just yet. He wasn't really sure what it was about her that had him so drawn to her, but there was something there. It could have been the FBI agents staring him down, the officers surrounding him, the fighting spirit of the woman in front of him- he simply did not know; and right then, he did not have the luxury of dwelling on it.

Adam had been a medic for years, had received his training in the military and come back to earn a full time job doing what he loved, saving lives; and everyday he got the opportunity to do just that. He just hoped today, he would be able to keep doing that for this one.

He looked up to see Tanner placing the paddles down on the woman's chest, the woman whose name he still did not know, and watched the heart monitor as Tanner sent a wave of electricity to her heart.

"Do it again." Adam ordered, refusing to let go of faith for this patient. "One more time." He commanded as he began to hear the distinctive sound of the chopper approaching.

He listened to the familiar sound of the paddles being used and smiled when he saw a sinus rhythm on the monitor. "Got her!" He said happily, "We got her." Without a second to hesitate, Adam went back to work as he saw the flight medic rushing towards them.

"Took you long enough." Adam growled, not making eye contact with the man.

"Weather is shit, man. We had to get special clearance for this case." Russell wasted no time in taking care of the new patient.

"What do you mean, this case?" Adam knew it, he knew that this woman was not just body the FBI had found in a field. There was much more.

"She's FBI man." Russell explain. "Call came into us as an FBI agent down."

Adam paused and glanced back up at the team of FBI agents, looking down at him; no wonder they had show emotion, she was one of them.

"Oh hell." Adam whispered, putting the pieces together. This woman, this victim was a federal agent, and did he feel for her.

"Alright, chopper is ready, we are going to Parkville." Russell announced as JJ was gently, carefully, loaded onto a gurney. The entire time, the medical staff mindful of any injuries that she had sustained.

"Chris.." Russell swore once she was clearly visible to him. "What the hell happened?"

"She was kidnapped." Hotch really had no idea what else to say. "Beaten." He said softly, taking in JJ's face as they prepared to load her on the helicopter.

"What's her name?" Russell asked, stepping up and helping Adam lift the gurney up and in.

"JJ." Hotch replied.

"JJ." Russell nodded and looked to Hotch. "You coming?"

Hotch did not say another word and simply jumped into the helicopter and took a seat next to JJ. Desperately wanting to hold her hand, to talk to her, but he was afraid to touch her, afraid to hurt her.

And over the next three minutes, Hotch listened to everything the medics had found and discovered.

"Thirty-five year old female, found in a shallow grave, attempted to intubate her upon arrival but unable to get the tube down due to severe swelling. Her pulse ox was in the low 70's and we elected to perform a cricothyrotomy to provide an airway. Upon that, we assessed her for injuries, her left pupil is blown, multiple burns on her torso, evidence of sexual assault and torture. BP is 60/30, we've already pumped fluids into her. CPR was performed after VFIB, we were able to get a sinus rhythm back after defibrillation. I suspect massive internal bleeding and damage and most likely pericardial tamponade."

He had heard enough, Hotch had heard enough, so he turned to JJ and carefully, gently put his hand to her forehead, mindful of the bruises that littered it. And took her in. The beautiful agent that had been in charge for so long, the vibrant lively agent who had earned her spot on  
>the team, now lay before him fighting with every ounce of her strength to live.<p>

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"JJ?" She heard her name being called. "JJ." A soft hand stroked her hair, she felt it- it was not rough or mean like the many hands who had done it before; this hand, whoever it belonged to, seemed to care.

She was scared, JJ was so scared. Her body would not listen to her commands, her body hurt, she could not cry or voice her frustration, she could not open her eyes, she could only listen.

JJ heard the man speaking, heard the words, but thats all they were right then. Words. Her mind couldn't seem to process what was being said.

"JJ." She tried to turn her head to the voice. She knew that voice, it was Hotch! "JJ, you are safe now." He whispered. "You are in good hands, we are on our way to the hospital now. You are very sick, JJ. They had to put a tube in your throat to help you breathe." His voice was  
>reassuring, and JJ was able to connect the dots, the hands on her head were those of her boss.<p>

With Hotch there by her side, JJ knew she could relax, let him handle everything.

With Hotch by her side, everything would be okay. With Hotch there it didn't matter that her heart had stopped beating, that her boss was now giving her CPR. With Hotch by her side, nobody could hurt her again. And JJ walked back towards the bright light.


	14. Family Ties

**A/N: i am kind bummed, I was hoping for more reviews for last chapter, oh well! Thank you for reading- that alone means a lot to me! Hopefully this chapter will get some reviews going (hint, hint!) Warning for language. Also in this chapter, you will hear a tiny bit more about what happened to JJ! Let me know if you figure it out!**

Aaron Hotchner had seen horrible, awful things in his long career, things that would make a superhero shudder, but nothing compared to what he was seeing now. His agent had just been rushed into the skilled staff of the emergency room- and it was everything Hotch never expected. He had been fortunate enough to be allowed to stay- only after flashing his badge and telling the staff that their patient was his FBI agent. They didn't dare fuck with him after that.

It was just like the ride in the helicopter, except much worse. Here, he couldn't touch JJ or hold her hand, or comfort her, here he could only watch and listen to the chaos feet away. And for once, he was absolutely powerless to help. No gun, or handcuffs, or profiling abilities would be able to help JJ now, now it was all up to her and the staff. FBI or not, Hotch had nothing to offer. Except support- and damn it all, he would be providing as much support as he could.

So, he stood in the small corner, out of the way and watched, and hoped.

He saw them work as one, work as one team to save the life of a complete stranger. They knew nothing about JJ, only that she was in desperate need of their services, and for them, Hotch was thankful.

"Sir?" Hotch looked up to see a nurse standing in front of him, blood was on her scrubs and without a question in his mind, Hotch knew where the blood was from. "Sir?" She tried again, reaching out to him.

"Yes?" Hotch answered, meeting her green eyes.

"Are you family?" She asked, obviously unaware of the speech he had just given the security guard when the guard had tried to stop him from entering the trauma room with JJ.

It was an interesting topic, really. Was he family? Yes, of course, he and JJ and the entire BAU were family, as tight knit as they came; sadly, the law did not recognize it that way. But her family, the one family member she had had, had done this to her, and then ended it before he could face anyone. "I am her boss." It sounded so cold, so casual, her boss. But what else could he say? He was more than a friend, the term family would not be recognized. He only hoped she would buy it.

"Her boss?" She raised an eyebrow, that was interesting.

"She is a federal agent, I am her direct supervisor." Hotch explained, looking over the nurse's shoulder to JJ. The chaos seemed to have died down, maybe she was getting better?

"Whatever." The nurse shook her head, she did not have time to argue about amily with the man. As far as she was concerned, he was the only one in the room- she needed answers. "What can you tell me about her?"

"Her name is Agent Jennifer Jareau, she goes by JJ." Hotch babbled. "She was kidnapped four days ago, we found her today." He paused and took a deep breath. "She was found in a shallow grave.."

Shirley nodded her head; yes, that information she knew about, the paramedics had advised her of that before her patient had even arrived. "When did she have the surgery?"

Hotch stopped and looked at her, then back to JJ. "What surgery?" He asked and an awful, horrible thought entered his mind. One he could not dwell on right then.

"She has a fresh scar to her back side, right by her kidney…"

Hotch swallowed and closed his eyes just as he heard the sound of the monitors picking back up in intensity again. "Ma'am, she was the victim of human trafficking.."

The nurse bit her lip and nodded, "Excuse me." She told him and rushed back over to the team.

Hotch watched as she seemed to convey the underlying message to the doctor, he watched as she turned back towards him, and he watched JJ suddenly deteriorate even further.

And when the room suddenly began to flood with more staff, when the true nature of just how sick JJ really was, when the nurse asked him to step out. Hotch did. He stepped out and gave the control of his agent over to a complete stranger. And sat down and waited.

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He was not sure how long he had been there, in that small waiting area. He had just sat there, and put his head in his hands. He knew his team was there, and they were all feeling and thinking the same thing. Would JJ make it?

And when Shirley came out with the doctor, sweat pouring down the faces of both of them, blood covering their scrubs, the team knew that there was no good news.

"Agents." The doctor addressed them.

"How is she?" Hotch didn't bother with pleasantries, he just needed an answer.

"I'm sorry." The doctor bowed his head and silence filled the room.


	15. Sunset

**A/N: OMG! Thank you all so much for your reviews! Now, I know if I live you with a cliff hanger, I will get reviews! JK! Please keep in mind I am not a doctor, and I remember watching the show ER- that's where the last scene comes in! MAJOR THANKS to SnuggleUp!**

**ENJOY!**

Carl McCain could best described as grumpy; and he was okay with that. It was him- a grumpy, old man who had just spent his last forty two hours working in the emergency room. He was dead tired and in desperate need of sleep. Sleep and quite.

Both of which he was in the process of acquiring. The employee break room was also equipped with two two sets of bunkbeds; and tonight he got his pick. He swore he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

And his head had just hit that pillow when he felt the familiar vibration of his pager going off. "No.." He mumbled to himself, almost tempted to ignore it. But he knew it was important, it had to be if they were paying him, especially after his rant about NOT paging him.

Whatever it was, it was bad. McCain was in charge of the ER, the chief of the critical department, and he ran it like a ship. He had the utmost confidence in his staff, the extraordinary nurses and talented doctors, but when his pager went off, he knew his expertise was needed.

It usually meant a wounded cop, or high ranking official was coming in-.

"Shirley." He greeted his charge nurse.

"Sorry to wake you, but we've got one coming in." She explained as the two dawned their protective equipment. "ETA is less than two minutes, be transported by air evac."

McCain nodded. "What do we know so far?" He always liked to be prepared ready for whatever was to hit him. He hated surprises; ever since he had found his wife sleeping with the janitor, McCain had learned to detest them. He tended to avoid them when he could.

"It's a hell of an incident, thirtyish year old female, found in a shallow grave by a farmer, evidence of torture, the paramedics had to crik her in the field, she went into V FIB but the team was able to restore a sinus rhythm. "

And then, the action began, in what felt like seconds, McCain watched as the paramedics rolled in a gurney into the ER; shouting off numbers and vitals and injuries. Behind them followed a sullen looking man.

Her name was Jennifer, and according to the paramedics, she had been abducted days before, the FBI had just found her and it did not look good for her right then. Her airway was safe, but that was about it.

"Jesus." McCain whispered as he began looking at the lacerations and cuts, and bruises covering the woman's nude body. "What the hell did they do to you, baby girl?" He asked, his skilled hands roaming her body looking for an obvious signs of injury.

He sure as hell found them, everywhere he touched, he ordered a new test, a new x-ray, a new scan. There was not a inch of her that had been spared.

"Honey, we are going to roll you over onto your side, really quick, okay?" He told her, talking to her even though she probably could near hear a word he was saying. He had to get a quick assessment.

"Six, seven, eight… fourteen burn injures to the back," He told the nurses, most of them already looked infected, oozing green pus and surrounded by the tell tale sign of a red circle around them.

He didn't look up when he heard the sound of more staff flooding the room, his focus was on his patient and her ever growing list of injuries. It was disgusting what had been done to her, and he knew that there had probably been a lot more done, but right then, simply keeping her alive was the main goal. And he honestly was not sure he could do that.

He looked down at her and shook his head, he knew her odds already and they were not in her favor. He briefly wondered if by intervening would go against the oath he took, to do no harm.

If somehow she were to survive this, would she have any quality of life? Any chance of normalcy? The answer was no; he knew that immediately.

But before he could think anymore on it, before he could make his decision, his brain stepped forward and he began to work on reflex.

For the patient in front of him, the lovely young woman had just taken another step closer to death; and this time, McCain was not sure he could bring her back from it

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Almost ninety minutes later, McCain stepped with Shirley out of the emergency room.

"You okay?" The nurse asked softly, knowing that this patient, this case, was especially hard on all of them

"Yes, let's go find her family." McCain had said softly, but authoritatively.

He did not know much, but someone had mentioned that the FBI was there, was acting as her family. And right then, anyone that was there, would work. HIPPA laws be damned, if someone was here to support her, then he would talk to them.

As soon as he and Shirley entered the room, a swarm of people surrounded him. This was the FBI, they still had their vests on, their jackets, everything. But instead of the untouchables that society seemed to think of them as, McCain saw them as people- scared people hoping for good news on their friend.

"Agents." He began, not caring if it was the proper title.

The sullen man that McCain had seen earlier spoke up immediately. "How is she?"

The doctor licked his lips, and wiped his brow, trying to think of how to phrase his wording. "I'm sorry." He began and instantly realized it was a horrible way to start. "Your friend, Agent Jareau is alive." He had to tell them that. "But I am honestly not sure how much longer she will make it."

He paused again, trying to detail her injuries. "We found evidence of traumatic injuries, encompassing her body. She has a head injury, internal bleeding, multiple broken bones including some rips that pierced her lung. Because of that, we had to essentially re inflate her lung. We did that by sticking a tube through her chest and into her lung. Unfortunately, it is not the worst or even most severe of her injuries right now. " He stopped again, making sure everyone was absorbing what he was telling them. "In the ER, we noticed an injury to her heart and because of the level of trauma, we had to crack open her chest to repair the damage to heart. Without the procedure, she never would have made it as far as she did…" There was another serious injury, a mystery to deal with and he would mention it later, but he needed to explain something..

"Is she alive?" The sullen agent spoke up, clearly just wanting to know.

McCain stopped then nodded. "For now." Another pause. "But we do not expect her to make it through the night." He told them.

"Where is she?"

"In the ER, trauma room. We need to move her to the OR, but unfortunately, she is not stable enough to do so."

"You are waiting for her to die." Another agent spoke up, this one skinny and younger than the rest.

"I cannot move her to the OR, we cannot even move her out of the ER right now without her coding.."

"So what are you going to do?" The same agent spoke up.

McCain bit his cheek. "I am going to give you time with her, I am going to keep her breathing as long as I can, and give you time for each of you to say goodbye to her." It was all he could do. They needed a miracle, she needed a miracle. Without one, Agent Jennifer Jareau would not live to see the next sunrise.


	16. As One

**A/N: it is short, but I need to push how critical JJ's condition really is! Please review!**

They were a team; they missed her as a team, found her as a team, and would say goodbye to her as a team. It was the way things were always done with them, with her- together. So together, they walked into the trauma room, trying to steady themselves for what they were about to encounter.

Minutes earlier, the kind doctor had told them what to expect; JJ would be hooked up to various machines, many of them doing the work her body could no longer do; there would be nurses and a doctor in the room, they had tried to clean it up, but in the end, the trauma room was still a mess. Evidence of the effort they had put into saving her life.

Shirley watched as the team walked into the trauma room- and she immediately recognized the look on their faces. Fear, dread, horror, shock- there was so much pain circling the petite woman lying close to death just feet away from her.

Hotch walked in first, followed closely by Emily, Reid, Garcia, Morgan and Rossi. Nobody needed to; they were close enough that the silence was not uncomfortable- they were lost in their own thoughts.

And Shirley watched. She watched each one of them, took them in individually, saw their pain, felt their emotions, and cried silently for them. For her patient.

It was not fair what had happened, it was not right, but Shirley had spent long enough time working in trauma to understand that life was not always fair, that horrible things happen to good people. Today, she was watching that horrible event happen to multiple people.

But what set this group apart from the thousands of family members she had seen in the same position was that it was hard to separate them. They seemed to blend in with another, to act as one, to be as one. Sure, she counted six individuals in the room hovering over her deathly ill patient, but she saw them as one- as a team.

And she smiled.

She smiled because despite the pain and hurt and horror that was in the room, Shirley was witnessing something else. She was seeing the love that engrossed this woman; that even though this woman had very limited amount of time left, she would pass knowing that her loving family was there.

And for that, Shirley was grateful. Grateful that while the last hours of this woman's life had undoubtedly been hell, she would die surrounded by her family- and it was something most did not get.

And when the monitor began beeping a bit louder, a bit more frantic, Shirley watched as the team didn't bat an eyelash, they knew what was coming and they knew it was not something any of them had the power to stop.

"Page Dr. McCain, please." Shirley asked the other nurse, her patient was making that final step towards her forever home; however, a doctor needed to be in the room to call her time of death. The second nurse nodded and quickly exited the room to retrieve the doctor.

He had just walked in, obviously awaiting the page and nodded at Shirley before glancing at the monitors. It would be anytime now; and he shook his head. It was always the good ones.


	17. How Do You Say Goodbye?

**A/N: i know this ER scene has taken up a lot of chapters- but this is the end of the ER.. Take that as you want! Please review!**

If Hotch could do anything right then, if he had the power to do anything- it would be the ability to save JJ's life. If he could do anything else, it would to be go back and make sure this never happened.

Unfortunately, he did not have the power to do either; but he could do one thing. He could be there, he could offer some comfort to not just the team, but to JJ. And he would be proud to do that. He watched intently as one by one, the members of the team went up to their dear friend and whispered their own words.

He was not sure what they were saying, but could guess they were all telling JJ how much they loved her, how proud of her they were. He heard Morgan talking about their relationship how JJ was always Morgan's little sister; heard Rossi profusely tell JJ how he saw her as his daugher, how Reid thanked JJ for giving him so much- her trust, how Emily simply told JJ thank you and how Garcia, even though a sobbing mess, told JJ that she was forever her best friend.

And when it was his turn; Hotch was sure he wouldn't know what to say. How do you say goodbye? How do you apologizing for not knowing; not saving her life? For not getting to her in time like the so many times you had done it for countless victims? Hotch was not sure he could talk, to speak, to say anything; he just did not have the words.

So he did what he knew he needed to do; he walked up to JJ and took her in.

Her blonde hair was splayed out, surrounding her; the tips were stained with blood. Her chest was covered with a blue medical sheet and Hotch had every idea what was underneath it- what the medical team was trying to do. Dr. McCain had told them they had to crack open her chest to save her life- Hotch had no doubt that JJ's open chest was under that sheet.

"Hi JJ." he was surprised at how easy the first words came out, destroyed at the sound of his normally strong voice. He took a deep breath and gently grabbed her hand, careful of the IV that had been placed there. It was as he was doing so; that he realized how perfect her hand fit into his and he couldn't help but look down at it.

The doctors and staff had done a wonderful job shielding the team from her injuries, seeing JJ in the best shape they could get her in, but even with all the tubes and wires and bandages, Hotch couldn't help but notice the tiny bit of blood that was staining the gauze on JJ's hand. He bit his lip as he remembered what the flight paramedic had said, that her finger was gone.

Her left index finger where JJ would proudly wear her wedding ring was gone; and Hotch couldn't help but boil when he knew that this, all of this, was because of Will. That JJ was dying because of him, that JJ was dependent on machines because of Will; that her chest was cut open, that she had been tortured- all because of a man she thought loved her.

"JJ." Hotch took in another breath as he watched Shirley whisper to another nurse; the monitors and machines were making more noise now, and Hotch knew he did not have much time left with her. WIthout hesitation, he just spoke.

"I don't know what we are going to do without you, JJ. You are the glue to our team; you've kept us all together, saved thousands of lives, been a mother figure to us- you are our everything." Hotch was frank, open and honest, knowing that the others could not hear him. He kept going even as she saw the doctor walk in. "You are what the FBI aims to be, you are the epitome of bravery and intelligence, and I promise you JJ, we will find those responsible."

He wasn't sure what happened, but the monitors went from a hectic tone to suddenly chaotic and while he expected to be pushed out of the way by charging nurses and doctors- it didn't happen. Instead, nobody moved- and it infuriated him.

He looked over at them, not one person moved, instead they stayed to themselves, their heads bowed. It didn't make any sense to him!

"Why aren't you doing anything?" Hotch yelled, startling every person in the room.

"Agent Hotchner.." Dr. McCain shook his head; it was always hard, a traumatized family member screaming for help, begging for them to act as God and bring their loved ones back.

"No- get over there and help her!" It was Morgan who said it this time, spoke up on behalf of his friends. Logically, they knew JJ was gone; but their emotions were the driving force right then.

They were not ready to let JJ go. They simply couldn't. She had been taken from them so fast, so quickly, that nobody got to feel her hug them one more time, feel her bright smile, hear her beautiful voice. They were not ready for death to take their own.

McCain looked to his staff and nodded, giving them the go ahead to make an attempt. An attempt to borrow time. And they did just that- they rushed over and began doing everything they could. Everything possible to prolong a life that had been stolen a long time ago.

And when McCain heard the monitors telling him there was no heartbeat, he took one more measure, one more attempt and it was not for her. Not for the patient, it was for the family. They needed to see an effort, a heroic but selfish effort had been made to save this life.

He watched as CPR was performed internally, all the while shaking his head; she was a lost cause. He ordered the CPR to continue, ordered drugs, ordered everything he could as he awaited the signal from the monitor that this precious life was gone.

And he got it a few minutes later. No amount of medical technology could save this one and as he looked down and removed the internal paddles from her heart, he made the heart wrenching decision.

"Don't." He heard in the background, a small voice. "Please don't.." It was a female voice, and when he looked he saw a blonde hair woman crying, shaking. "She is my best friend, she made it this far; she survived everything else. Please. Just keep trying."

"She is not a DNR.." another voice spoke up.

McCain struggled, the woman was gone, was dead and he knew that and the staff knew that; so now came the time to give it a few more tries knowing it couldn't hurt, or to call the time of death.

McCain shook his head. "I am sorry." The fight was over.

And then it wasn't.

"She is an FBI agent, she was kidnapped by her husband and sold into a human trafficking ring in exchange for drugs. She has saved countless lives, risked her life when everything pointed to there being no hope. Saved children from monsters, and us from ourselves. Just.. please.. keep trying." It was Agent Hotchner.

"She is gone." McCain looked to them. "Time of death.." He began looking at the clock.

"Bypass!" The scrawny guy from the team suddenly yelled. "She is a candidate for bypass.."

"She won't survive the anesthesia."

"McCain.." Shirley was shaking her head, even as she continued CPR.

McCain was torn, torn between what was medically correct what science was showing him, and the frantic cries from the team..

"You have nothing to lose, the only thing that you are risking is the chance she may live. Please." The scrawny agent pleaded.

"Fuck." McCain muttered to himself realizing they were right. That, and he didn't want to piss off the FBI. "Page surgery; let them know we are coming up."

"McCain?" Shirley looked at him, shocked that he was doing this.

McCain forced a smile. "Crowsdall owes me a favor." He winked. "Page him, let him know we are bringing up a critical.."

And with that Hotch and the team watched as their precious JJ, their sister was rushed from the ER away from them. And as they left the room, the BAU stood silent, unable to take their eyes off the amount of blood spilled in the room. JJ's blood.

And they wondered; they wondered if by arguing with the doctor, if by pleading with him to save JJ's life they had only accomplished one thing.

And that was continuing to allow JJ to suffer.


	18. A Chance

**A/N: Thank you for sticking with me! I love reviews.. they keep me going! Please, pretty please review!**

Mitchell Rannigan rolled his neck, already exhausted from the long night in the ICU. He had already lost one patient and had one more knocking on death's door, and now the charge nurse had just informed him that he would be getting one more.

Wonderful. Why him? Why did he have to get some vegetable that had no chance of making it? He had been briefed on the newest patient's condition and had rolled his eyes. They knew. They all know that this woman did not really stand any chance of making it. But like a good percentage of his patients, he assumed the family had refused to sign a DNR, refused to give up- even when the time had come to do so.

Now, he would be stuff babysitting. He really needed to start looking for a new job; or at least transfer to a unit where his patients could talk to him.

"Crap." He shook his head as she saw the surgical team approaching. They were guiding a gurney, straight into room two;his room, this was his patient.

And he knew instantly that his initial idea of her was correct; this one had been gone a long time ago- and now, she was simply existing by the grace of science.

"Judith." He nodded at the familiar surgical nurse and stepped up to begin helping. This one was in bad shape; and just by looking at her, Mitchell knew this would take a bit. "Whatcha got for me, beautiful?" He smiled at his friend.

Judith shook her head, well used to hearing Mitchell flirt with others, not just her. "Sad case, Mitch. She was found in a grave by a farmer, he thought she was dead. Obviously she wasn't and she was air flown to us. In the field, they criked her, and in the ER McCain was forced to crack her chest. Poor thing has been through a lot, haven't you dear?" Judith explained as she helped JJ settle into the soft bed.

"We didn't expect her to make it up to surgery, let alone through it; but ten hours later- I guess she proved us wrong."

Mitchell nodded. "I can see that." He took a quick glance over the woman. From head to toe, he did an assessment.

And he felt his heart break; the poor thing really had gone through hell.

The first thing that jumped out to him, the thing he rarely saw, was that she had been placed on bypass, her heart simply too weak to do anything.

She had been placed in a Halo, indicating that the staff had found a fracture in her neck and while it was not good; by far it was the least of her problems. She was not breathing on her own, giving no indication that she was even making an attempt to try; her face was swollen, a central line had been placed and lying next to it were several syringes. And while Mitch didn't know what was being pumped into her yet; he knew he would find out soon. As his eyes moved down her body he felt his calculated professionalism begin to fade; this woman was a mess.

Bruises and cuts seemed to cover her, her leg was externally fixated, screws obviously being used to set yet another fracture.

"She is an FBI agent, Mitch." Judith's voice broke through his concentration. "Just before this all happened, she saved a child from a serial killer." Judith flashed him a smile. "She's a hero."

"She is obviously not someone I want to mess with." Mitch said softly, as he began looking over her chart. "Has a rape kit been done?" He asked, seeing that one had been requested.

"No, she hasn't been stable enough. But her boss is requesting it to be done as soon as possible."

Mitch nodded, signing his name on the chart that he had received his patient, that she was as stable as she could get, and that she was now in his care. He watched as the carnival of nurses and doctors began to pile out, slowly, each only after doing their job.

Nearly two hours later, this young woman was all his to care for. He took a seat next to her and began reviewing her chart. He had just become engrossed in it, when he saw someone enter the room.

"I'm sorry, visitor hours are over." He told them, not giving much thought to it.

But a gruff voice had him looking again, and when he saw an FBI badge in his face, Mitch knew this was a battle he had already lost. "How can I help you?" He asked, standing up.

"My name is Agent Hotchner, I am with the FBI." He began, and Mitch couldn't help but notice how the man kept looking over at his patient.

"Is she yours?" Mitch asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"My agent? Yes." Hotch explained and for the first time since JJ's surgery, he got to look at her. His heart jumped into his throat at the sight of all the machines. There was so many; and they all made her look so little.

"I'm Mitch, I'll be her nurse for the next few hours." Mitch stuck out his hand. "Did they tell you anything about her condition?"

Hotch swallowed as he took in JJ's condition. "They told me a bit; they said she was in grave condition and that the next few hours were crucial."

"That's correct. She is on bypass, Agent Hotchner, her heart simply cannot do it's job right now. We are hoping to do it for her; and she will remain on bypass for at least the next forty-eight hours Does she have any family?" Someone as jaw dropping as the woman in front of him, had to be married.

"She has her team." Hotch's voice did not leave room for any more questions on the subject. He licked his lips and bowed his head before asking the question he had been dreading. "They asked me in the ER if she had had surgery recently; I am not sure why they asked.."

Mitch nodded, knowing exactly what the agent was referring to. "We found a fairly large scar on her backside,it's fresh and is infected.."

"Where her kidney is."

Mitch knew deep down, it should be the doctor telling the agent this but felt he had no choice. "It's gone, sir. She is missing a kidney."

Hotch didn't know what to say, what to think, what to feel. So all he did was nod. "Can I.." He couldn't finish the sentence.

"Of course, you won't hurt her. You can talk to her as well." Mitch encouraged, stepping back to see the powerful FBI agent, step towards the small woman. Mitch didn't hear anything that was being said, but knew Agent Hotchner was talking to the woman, watched as he gently took her hand, and brushed her hair with his fingers.

And when he left, Mitch stepped back over to the woman and tucked the blanket closer around her. Maybe she wasn't a vegetable like he had thought earlier, maybe, just maybe, this one would make it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hotch trudged towards the small family room, now, angrier, than he had been in a long time. JJ was safe; JJ was in a hospital under the careful eyes of an experienced staff. Now, it was time for the BAU to go to work.

He didn't bother to greet his team when he walked in, just began speaking. "As you all know, JJ made it through surgery. She wasn't expected to, but she surprised everyone and made it. She is now in the ICU. I spoke with her doctor and length and this is what we know now. JJ's heart has been damaged and she has been put on bypass. They will leave her on it for the next two days, then attempt to take her off of it."

"That can kill her.." Reid spoke up. "Hotch.."

Hotch held up his hand. "I know. But everyone doubted JJ from the moment we found her in that field, maybe it is time we start giving her the benefit of the doubt. We cannot do anything for JJ here, except beleive in her, and we need to start doing that." He took a sip of his coffee. "Will was JJ's medical power of attorney, however, considering the situation, I have been signing for consent. I was asked to sign a DNR." He looked at everyone in the room. "I refused, JJ will not be a DNR until I have no proof that she has a chance."

"What aren't you telling us," It was Morgan who spoke up. While he was ecstatic that JJ had made it this far, he knew something was off.

Hotch nodded. "We all know JJ was a victim of human trafficking." He paused., feeling his anger rise. "During surgery they discovered that JJ was also a victim of organ trafficking." He hung his head. "I don't care what it takes, what we have to do, who we have to hire. We find these cowards and show them that you do not mess with this team."


	19. Puppy

**A/N: Thank you for all your support and reviews! This chapter might be a bit confusing.. let me know if it is! I did my best! Thank you everyone!**

JJ stood in a large grass field, simply enjoying the peace that seemed to surround her. Her bare feet felt cool in the tall green grass and she took in a deep breath when she felt the breeze brush past her face. It was bless. After everything she had been through- simply being outside in the fresh country air, made her feel almost herself again.

"JJ?" She heard a voice and snapped open her eyes, trying to locate the speaker. They were vaguely familiar; to JJ, the voice was someone she knew. At least, she thought she knew it. It was a female's voice, soft and depressed. Somewhere, deep down, JJ knew that she knew the speaker, but right then, she could not put a name or a face to it.

"We miss you, love bug." The voice spoke again, and JJ turned around searching for the woman. She had no limitations on her visibility, she could see far and away; and judging by the volume of the voice; the speaker was very close.

But try as she might- JJ could not find the person.

"Hello?" She called out, hoping the person would show themselves. "I can't see you." She spoke, and nearly jumped when she saw the grass moving. She crouched down to see if maybe a person was hurt, laying in the grass and unable to get up. Instead, what she found was a tiny puppy walking towards her.

Normally, JJ would have been terrified of dogs, many dogs, including tiny little puppies. But there was something different about this one and when she reached over to pet it, the tiny dog pranced away before looking back at JJ.

"You want to play?" JJ found herself laughing at the puppy who had his front paws down with his head, and his hind legs and wagging tail in the air. "I'm going to get you.." JJ whispered, taking small steps to the dog, laughing when he barked at her.

She continued to follow the puppy, playing with it and soon the voice talking to her faded away. JJ was more interested in the small dog, than she was in the voice.

She wasn't sure how long it had been when the dog suddenly stopped, and backed up to her, shaking. "What is wrong little guy?" JJ lifted the shivering puppy into her arms and looked ahead.

The dog had lead her to a fork in the road; one was bumpy and dangerous, thorns stuck out from trees, pits of mud seemed to spring out of nowhere, she heard the sound of wolves and snakes. But towards the very end of the darkness, JJ saw a tiny flicker. A light.

The other way, was undoubtedly easier. A clear path, sun shining the entire way, birds singing.

And JJ looked at both paths and knew instantly what they implied. One was the way to life- if would be difficult with various obstacles to overcome, and no guarantees; the other was allowing her to not worry about fighting anymore and head into her after life.

She turned back around, suddenly afraid and looked to see that her oasis was gone. That the grass field had vanished and instead the only thing she saw was a fluffy red chair. It was waiting for her; she didn't have to make her choice yet.

"C'mon, little one." She carried the puppy to the chair and took a seat in it, smiling as the puppy snuggled against her chest, before yawning and falling asleep.

JJ knew what decision she wanted, she was done fighting, she didn't want to fight anymore; she wanted peace. So she stood back up and walked towards the easy path; the one that held no pain- she was halfway there when she heard the voice calling to her again.

"We love you, JJ." The semi familiar voice called to her; and JJ stopped.

That voice, whoever it belonged to was the one thing stopping her from going home. And she had to figure out who it belonged to; and with that, JJ, turned back around and walked away from both paths. Her decision would have to wait.


	20. Bomb

**A/N: i am so sorry for my lack of updates. I got hit by a car and have a concussion.. it's been a weird few weeks. Please review!**

Aaron Hotchner wrung his hands together, nervously. He was nervous, and the sweat dripping down his back, soaking his normally pristine white shirt proved just how nervous he was. He had every reason to be nervous; to be frightened. Yet, he couldn't allow anyone to see it, he had to remain in control.

And he stood there, by his agent's side as he listened to the staff and what they were telling him. The head of security, the doctor and charge nurse and CEO of the hospital stood, talking to him, and Hotch was beginning to boil.

"When did this happen?" Hotch heard the tension in his own voice.

"Agent Hotch.." The CEO, didn't even get the chance to finish.

"You are telling me." Hotch dropped his voice low, one that he used when he had his UNSUBS backed into a corner. "That a bomb threat has been called into this hospital, that the person on the other end of the line identified MY agent by name.. and you are just now telling me this?"

"The hospital is on lock down, security is sweeping it as we speak, the police are already on scene. Nobody can get in or out of this building right now without a badge."

Hotch shook his head, he was not use to being on this side of the investigation. "What exactly did he say about JJ?" He asked, pulling out his phone simultaneously. He quickly sent a text to Morgan- "Get to JJ now"- he wrote.

The doctor and nurse both looked to the CEO- he was the big man for a reason. He was in charge, this was his hospital. And now, he got to explain the entire situation to the man in charge of an elite group of federal agents.

"When our security officer got to the phone, the person on the other line stated that they knew the location of Agent Jareau,"The CEO paused, the words alone were causing him to be sick. "They asked that they be allowed to check her out.."

"What?" Hotch's head snapped up at that.

"We told them that it was not possible, but did not release any information about her condition. They asked for visiting hours and if it would be possible to visit her." He paused again before looking Hotch in the eye. "We told them that it would need to be discussed with her family.."

Hotch could hear it, the unspoken threat that he was unaware of. "Go on." He demanded, not sure if he was ready to hear JJ's life was in danger again. Not now. Not ever again, but not now. It was the worst possible time, she was absolutely helpless, unable to even breathe on her own. It wouldn't be hard to harm her, not in the least. After all, one of the staff had pointed out just a few days before that JJ was "on edge."

And with that thought, Hotch's mind went into a tail spin. And he had to make a concentrated effort to make sure the staff in front of him, had no idea what he was thinking.

"When informed that person.."

"Stop. Just stop. Was this person male or female? What did they sound like?"

"We believe it was a male, he was very specific about Agent Jareau."

"What do you mean?" Hotch knew he was about to hear something he didn't want to..

"Agent Hotchner, he told security that if he did not get his property back one way or another, he would make sure she never woke up.,,"

Hotch nodded and chewed his lip. "I want a list of every person who has been in this room. Nurses, doctors, clergy, anyone and everyone." He stopped. "I want a list of every person she has been in contact with with since she got here.."

"Agent Hotchner, I can assure you that our security team has this situation under control."

"And now, the FBI does. Where did he say the bomb was?"

And when they didn't answer him, when Hotch looked over their shoulders to see the police racing in, he knew.

"It's in this room.."


	21. Anna

**A/N: Thank you for following me and this story!**

Annabelle Adams scrubbed her hands profusely as she prepared to enter the OR. She had been paged and it was a 911- an urgent case that required her immediate attention. She was good, very good, but she was still young and learning everyday. Why the chief of the cardiovascular surgery had called her on this one was beyond her. She had been told earlier on that this patient, the one she had been paged for, was to be handled only by the head of the departments.

She knew the patient, by now the entire hospital did; everyone from the very top to the very bottom knew her name. They also knew not to speak it, not out where anyone could hear it. The hospital had screwed up royally earlier in the week, and failed to notify her family of a threat against the patient.

It was only later, through the grapevine that Annabell learned the true nature of this patient, about her unique case. And she had learned by accident just an hour before just how sick she truly was.

Adams had been the closest qualified doctor to the ICU when the code rang over the hospital, she had no choice but to rush to the room; and she did. And when she got there, she knew whatever was happening was not good. The room was overflowing with medical personnel, nurses doing their work to keep this patient alive until Adams could get to them.

"What happened?" She had rushed in, dawning the gear she knew she would need. And in the corner of her eye, she spotted two intimidating men, both standing and watching every move she made. They made sure, she saw their badges and guns- they wanted her to make sure she knew they were there.

"Spike a temp.." Molly, the charge nurse had informed her as she injected JJ with vital medication. "Shot up to 103.5"

Annabelle shook her head, she knew instantly what had gone wrong. "How long has she been on bypass?" The doctor asked, stepping up to the look at her patient, at the same time wondering when her chief would rush in.

"Molly." Anna took a deep breath and made the call, she just hoped it wouldn't cost her her job. "Page OR, let them know we are coming.." She knew she couldn't handle the surgery herself, but by the time they actually got JJ to the OR, a senior doctor would be there.

"Anna.." Molly shot her a warning glance, one that the two FBI agents did not miss.

"She doesn't have the time, Molly." Anna hissed back as she listened to her patient breathe. "We need to go, now." She nodded at the other nurses. Her word was final.

Anna watched as the nurses began preparing JJ for surgery, she would have to leave soon, meet her patient in the OR. "Agent Jareau." She bent down and whispered softly to the young woman. "My name is Anna, I am a cardiothoracic surgeon. We are taking you up to the OR right now, we are going to try and see if we can get your heart beating on it's own. We will do everything we can, but I need you to keep fighting for me, okay? I will work as hard as I can but this is your battle." She made sure the agents heard her voice, her words, wanted them to make sure that Anna had no intention of causing any more harm for the young agent. She looked up and nodded and the transport team, telling them to go and move JJ to the OR.

She headed out the door, just behind JJ when she stopped and turned towards the two men.

"I will do my best, I promised her and I will promise you." And with that, she had nodded and jogged out but was stopped by one of the nurses.

"Dr. Ortiz is already there, she is in good hands."

"Okay." Anna nodded and stopped her rush, something was telling her to stop, to turn around and talk, answer questions. To be more than just a doctor right then.

"I'm sorry." She walked back in and towards the two male agents. They looked stunned, tired, shocked, exhausted, confused. "My name is Annabelle Adams, I am one of the heart surgeons on staff." She wiped back a strand of red hair as she introduced herself.

"Is she.." One of them began.

"She's very sick, I want to be as honest and open as I can with you. She spiked a fever, which is an indication to us that we have to get her off bypass now. We are taking her to the OR."

"But removing the bypass.."

"Is dangerous, but keeping her on it, where we are now. The risks outweigh the benefits, we have to do this now." She paused and looked at both of them. "I meant what I told her, I will do everything I can, but a lot is up to her."

"Thank you." One of them nodded.

And with that, she walked out of the room and headed straight for the OR.

Twenty minutes later, Anna took in a deep breath and walked in to the OR, hoping that she would keep her promise and that somehow, Agent Jareau would make it back to her family.

"Dr. Adams, glad you could join us." She recognized the voice immediately, it was Dr. Ortiz.

"I was talking with her family.."

"Her family doesn't need you right now, she does."

"Sir?" Anna walked closer, nervous about what he was saying, what he was implying.

"You are going to do this." He handed her the instruments. "You need to learn how to do this," He paused and lowered his voice, looking Anna in the eyes. "You need to prepare what you are going to tell her family. Anna, she has virtually no chance of ever breathing on her own again, we all know that. I just want you to be aware of that as you begin the procedure."

Looking at the monitors, Anna closed her eyes, it wouldn't happen. Not without a miracle- an immediate miracle. She only wished she had been able to tell the agents to tell their friend goodbye.

And the thoughts ran through her mind as her carefully trained hands began disconnecting the life sustaining machine. What in the hell was she going to tell a group of FBI agents desperate for any word? How was she going to tell them that their friend didn't make it?

"Anna, you ready?" Ortiz asked, and Anna nodded, there was no turning back now.

And she did her job, she did what she had been trained to do, she pumped medicine into the body, watched as the staff performed internal CPR, sent more medicine into her body. She watched as the heart remained still, listened as the machines continued to wail, listened as Ortiz guided her through the procedure. More CPR, more medicine and still nothing.

"It's your call Anna, what do you want to do?" Ortiz looked to her and backed away from the table, signaling he was done.

Anna swallowed and looked at the clock, they had been trying for nearly an hour with no success. She had given countless rounds of highly powerful medication, her heart had been shocked close to eighty times- there was still nothing. She took a deep breath and made her call.


	22. Fight

**A/N: TISSUE ALERT! I am serious.. Just know I write what I feel and try to keep it "real." I will leave it at that..**

**PLEASE review!**

Hotch paced the waiting room, glancing at the clock on the wall every minute. JJ had been rushed into emergency surgery hours before- and he had yet to hear anything. That had to be a good sign; at least that is what he kept telling himself.

He had understood that it was a dangerous surgery, a risky one, but one that JJ desperately needed. In the end, he hoped it was the right choice- he wanted JJ back on his team, scratch that. He just wanted JJ back.

He wanted JJ's smile back- how she could make them all laugh on the most dreadful of days, in the most horrific of cases.

He wanted to hear her voice again, how soft and gentle it was with victims and their families, how stern and commanding it could be with even the most vile UNSUBS, and how carefree it was with her family; with the team.

He wanted to hear her laugh, enjoy her company, be in her company. He hated that she had gone through so an ordeal, but he wanted her to talk about it. To him. To them.

He wanted her to live her life, to see her recover and move forward from what she had experienced. And it hit him like a train right then, he really had no idea what JJ had gone through. Yes, he had his clues, but very little evidence, he had been counting on JJ to be able to tell him and the team what had happened. He had been counting on the idea that JJ would survive and that JJ would lead them to whoever had done this.

He had been counting on it, and as he looked up and saw a team of doctors walking towards him, Hotch knew, he had been counting on something that was not going to happen.

Anna rubbed her eyes as she stood in the scrub room, trying to maintain some sense of professionalism as she prepared herself to go and speak with Agent Jareau's family. And for the first time in her career, Anna was not sure she could do it; in the first time- she doubted herself as a doctor.

"Anna?" Anna looked up, startled momentarily at the sudden voice, but relaxed when she saw the OR nurse standing next to her.

"Oh, Connie, I.. I didn't see you there.." Anna forced a smile.

"Are you alright, honey?" The Southern nurse asked, knowing full well what was bothering the young doctor.

"Yeah… of course."

"Anna, do you know I have been doing this job longer than you have been alive?" Connie whispered and without hesitation reached over and entangled the younger woman in a motherly embrace. Not two seconds later, she heard the young doctor start sobbing in her arms and Connie smiled. Glad to be present when Anna finally let it go. "It's alright, it's alright.." Connie whispered, leading Anna over to one of the chairs.

"It's not.." Anna whispered. "How is it alright?" Nothing was alright right now.

"No, you are right, it's isn't right now- but it will be."

"Not for her, not for them." Anna argued.

"Anna…"

"I need to go talk to her family."

"Of course, dear. Just remember honey, you both fought hard and long.."

Anna nodded and swallowed before glancing at her watch; she had agreed to meet with Dr. Ortiz in the hallway in a little less than two minutes. It was time to do the one thing she had dreaded since med- school- and she was not sure if she could.

Ten minutes later, Anna walked with Dr. Ortiz down the long hallway, in silence. She could only guess what he was thinking- was there any emotion left in it for him or was he just too hardened that it didn't bother him anymore?

"Dr. Adams, are you ready?" His voice had taken on a fatherly tone as he stopped to look at her.

"No." She answered truthfully. "I.. what do I say?"

Dr. Ortiz let out a breath and shook his head. "It will never get any easier doing this, and each person will react differently, just respect that- respect the family, and respect your patient." He paused. "I will be right behind you."

Anna looked to him and then back down the hallway. She could see into the waiting room, she could see Agent Hotchner and a few other people sitting inside, waiting for her, waiting for her to tell them that their friend had made it.

With a deep breath, Anna stood as tall as her five foot tall frame would allow her and walked towards the waiting room bracing herself for what was about to happen. She was ambushed as soon as she walked out.. and only two words could escape her mouth.

"I'm sorry." She told them and felt the air being let out of the room. She watched as the tears began cascading down a few faces, watched as some turned their back to her and place their hands to their mouths, but what held her attention was Agent Hotchner. Agent Hotchner and the look on his face, the absolute hell she had just put him through. And she knew it was just beginning for him, for them.

She watched as a few seconds went by and suddenly, she saw something she had never expected. Instead of the people in the room becoming hysterical, something else happened. They centered themselves before gathering around Agent Hotchner, and while she was not invited to the meeting, Anna could hear what was being said and it scared the hell out of her.

"Find them. Find them now." Agent Hotchner hissed. "I want JJ's name and story on the morning news broadcast, get a reward and a tip line set up.." He stopped and looked down. "We need to let the chief know that a federal agent has been murdered."

And right then and there, Anna knew she had become involved in something much bigger than she had ever expected as a doctor to be. Good.

Special Agent Jennifer Jareau would be that patient that would stay with her for a very long time, because now she had no doubt that the FBI would stop at nothing to bring her killers to justice. And whatever the FBI needed, whatever she could do to help, Anna vowed right then to help. She couldn't save Agent Jareau, but that didn't mean she couldn't do anything for her.

And Anna knew that when she was called to court to testify about JJ's death, she would be there, hurricane force and all.


	23. Miracle

**A/N: So, apparently, I made a lot of people upset last night about the chapter I posted; let me say a few things. For one, if you have read any of my stories, you know things change from chapter to chapter; don't just give up on one of my stories because you don't like what has happened, esp if you have been following for a long time. **

**For those who continue to read, thank you! I am sure you will enjoy this chapter!**

Anna stood with her arms crossed, desperately trying to find any words to say to the FBI agents in her presence; to offer something of comfort. But when it came down to it, Anna realized that nothing she could say could help.

She had not gone into counseling for this reason, she simply had no idea what to say at times like this. Phrases such as "I am sorry for your loss," didn't seem to offer anything, it was just a cold phrase that medical staff used when they couldn't come up with anything better. And right now, that was the boat she was in..

"Dr. Adams." She looked up to see Agent Hotchner walking towards her at the same time she felt the familiar buzz of her pager going off. Shit.

She glanced down at her pager, and was surprised to see a 911 coming from OR 3; the OR she had just left Agent Jareau in.. what in the world?

"ADAMS!" She heard Ortiz scream and looked back just to see him take off running; she had no choice but to follow, leaving Agent Hotchner behind her wondering what had just happened. Anna was wondering the same thing. A 911 page was not used for a cadaver, a 911 was reserved for the most critical of cases, a case just like Agent Jareau.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Jared had wanted to be a nurse for as long as he could remember; he had the utmost respect for a profession that was often thankless. Ever since he was a little boy, he had known exactly what he wanted to do for a profession. When he would tell people what he dreamed of doing, he would be asked why he did not want to be doctor; Jared would reply that; while being a doctor would be quite an honor, he knew he was destined to be a nurse.

He had started off as a psychiatric nurse but quickly realized that it was not his forte, he had moved into other specialties, pediatrics, oncology, emergency, name it and he had done it and still had not found his niche, until he took a chance and had the opportunity to become an OR nurse. That had been ten years ago- and today, today as he stood above his most recent patient, he knew he was meant to be here.

"C'mon, hon." He whispered as he ignored the the glances that were surely being shot his way; but his years as a nurse had taught him a few things. He was a damn good nurse, and when something in his gut was telling him to keep going- he listened to it.

And that was exactly what was happening right now. He had been there throughout the entire surgery, been there as the doctors attempted to discontinue bypass, watched as they fought and fought to save a life, and watched as they called time of death and ran out of the OR.

He watched in disbelief as they gave up on so much promise; so much opportunity. Jared had heard about his patient, an FBI agent who had disappeared and was found days later in a grave. From the get go, from Jared's understanding, she had never been given a shot, never been given a chance.

But she defied the doctor's odds then and for the life of him, Jared could not figure out why they had expected her to just stop living, to give up. No, not this one, she deserved an advocate, someone to believe that she still had a tiny bit of hope left.

And Jared stepped up. And he stood there, with his hand on her heart, squeezing it, performing internal massage in an effort to get her heart beating again- to give her just one more chance.

"C'mon honey." He spoke softly to her, ignoring the screaming monitors, ignoring the voices of the few remaining staff, asking him to stop. "Agent, you can do this, c'mon.."

"Jared!" He heard someone yelling at him, but he had tunnel vision and he was not going to stop until he was physically dragged from the OR. "Jared, stop." The person ordered.

"Screw you." Jared muttered under his breath and continued squeezing the heart.

"Jared, she's gone, let her go. We have the OR booked for another patient and you are delaying that. Just stop." The voice commanded, and Jared shook his head and kept fighting.

"Not yet." He replied. "A few more minutes.."

"She's dead." The person replied. "And you will be too if I call Clarance up here."

Jared shook his head. "Go ahead." In all honesty, he knew his boss would side with him. Clarence was the director of nursing and while strict, he was damn good at his job.

The person huffed and stormed out of the OR, as Jared continued his mission. He knew there was only one other person in the room, Nemer, the anesthesiologist. Never one to create a fuss, Nemer simply stood in the corner, filling out his share of the paper work.

"Okay honey, let's try this for a few more minutes.." Jared pled, hoping his gut was right, that this woman would still fight- as long as someone helped her do so. And suddenly, he felt that fight kick back in- he felt it before the monitors picked it up or detected it.

He felt a tiny pump in his hands, a very tiny one- but a huge one at the same time her heart was beating, she was alive, she still had a chance to continue proving everyone wrong.


	24. Tears

**A/N: Ya'll rock!**

Anna could not believe the news she was about to deliver, it was a miracle. No, it was beyond a miracle, it was something that she could not find a word for, any word, in any of the four languages she spoke. None of the medical staff had a word either, it simply was.

It was everything that everyone had always hoped for, one of those stories that would forever make its rounds around the large hospital- and Adams would forever be the center of it. The one who gave up, the doctor who gave up and left her patient to die. The nurse, Jared would be remembered as the hero- the one who stayed behind and kept up the good fight. The one who saved the life of an FBI agent who was not done fighting. And she owed Jared all the respect in the world right then.

She had asked him to accompany her when she informed the family, he had declined. He wanted to stay with JJ until he knew she was safe in the ICU, and Anna had to respect that choice. She felt better if Jared was with her, she knew he would keep JJ safe. Do what she had been unable to do- keep her alive.

Now, for the second time, she had to go deliver news to her family. And this time, Anna smiled.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Aaron Hotchner had just picked his jaw off the ground, we he saw Dr. Adams walking back towards him. He was still in shock, unsure of what to think- to say.

He was in shock for so many reasons, but two stood out the most.

He was in shock that he had lost JJ, that they had lost JJ. Their JJ was gone. Forever. And they had no leads, no UNSUB, no nothing. He had failed her, and his mind couldn't let go. It was an all encompassing, soul consuming black hole that he knew he was going to keep falling into- and right now, there was nothing to stop him.

The second was that the surgeon had simply rushed away- moments after telling the team the dreaded news, her pager had gone off, and she had run away. Seemingly forgetting that she had just shattered the lives of multiple people. She had rushed off without an excuse, without a word, and had yet to come back.

That had been hours ago, and Hotch had every intent of waiting until he saw the doctor walking back out; had every intention of telling her the disrespect she had displayed when speaking with a grieving family, a federal agent's family. JJ's family.

And he had seen the anger, the despair, the heartbreak in his team's eyes. And by God, he was not going to let one arrogant doctor make this moment any worse; it was horrific as it was with JJ's death.

He had asked the nurse sitting at the desk to page the doctor, had repeatedly asked for someone to come talk to him, and had received very little response. So, with one last look at his silent team, all with tears in their eyes, he walked up to the information desk, took out his badge and slammed it down so hard on the counter that everyone in the waiting room jumped.

"Get. That. Doctor. Now." Hotch growled, not caring how he frightened the desk nurse. "My agent, my FBI AGENT, was just murdered. Get the damn doctor now."

"Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch whipped around, recognizing the voice immediately. The doctor. A million thoughts raced through his mind, a million words and ideas. He desperately wanted to arrest her, to take her to jail to put her in her place. But he knew he couldn't- on so many levels. She was not a UNSUB, she had not hurt or harmed JJ in anyway; and regardless of how angry he was; he could not change someone's disposition.

"Doctor." He glared at her and soon felt the force of his team lining up around him. He looked to his left and saw Garcia and Emily holding hands, supporting each other, Morgan was behind them, Reid and Rossi stood to his left. They could do this, they would do this.

"I apologize for what.." Anna began, slightly intimidated by the sight of the entire team glaring at her.

"Stop. Just stop." Morgan began. "Our friend, our teammate, our JJ was murdered, and you don't even have the decency to stay with us after telling us our friend…"

"Is alive." Anna interrupted him. "Your friend is alive."

"What?" The word slipped out of Hotch's mouth before he could stop it.

Anna swallowed. "She's in the ICU. If you'd like, one of you can walk up there with me to see her."

There was no offer, no choice, Hotch made it and as he followed Anna down the hallways, he found his mind racing again. This time, trying to process what had been told to him. JJ was alive. JJ was still breathing. JJ was still here.

He heard the doctor talking, saw her sending glances back at him, but he couldn't focus, couldn't hear what she was saying- JJ was alive, and that was all that matter.

And when he saw her in the ICU, a nurse by her side, Hotch did something he had not done in a long time.

He cried.


End file.
